SMU’s Claire Rietsch prepares to serve the ball during the match against TCU. (Christina Parrish)
After ending the regular season on an 11-match win streak and 19-4 overall (3-1 C-USA), the No. 48 SMU women’s tennis team travels to Tulsa, Okla., today for the C-USA Championship tournament.
The Mustangs are seeded second, a place head coach Lauren Longbotham said her team is comfortable with.
“Last year we were seeded No. 1,” Longbotham said, “which put a target on our backs. I think the girls are more comfortable being No. 2.”
The head coach also says the women are confident heading into their first post-season match, which will be played tomorrow against the winner of the Houston-Rice match-up. (The Mustangs received a first-round bye in the tournament.)
“We’ve continued to improve greatly,” she said. “I have told the girls the season is like a race. We’ve cleared the hurdles and the turns, now we’re on the last stretch and they just need to run.”
The squad is playing its best tennis of the season, according to Longbotham, and looks to be a force to reckon with at the tournament. SMU beat both Rice and Houston during the regular season.
No. 1 singles and doubles player Natalia Bubien was named to the C-USA All-Academic team this week, alongside six other conference players. The sophomore holds a 3.86 GPA in psychology in addition to her 11-7 dual match record.
Bubien pairs with Claire Reitsch at No. 1 doubles. The duo holds a 17-3 dual match record at No. 1 while the freshman boasts the team’s best singles record. Reitsch is 19-2 overall and has won all of her last 10 matches.
Fellow freshman Pavi Francis holds the team’s next best singles record of 19-4, 4-0 against conference opponents. Francis teams up with senior Jennifer Chay, who has a 14-6 overall singles record in doubles. The pair is 11-6 at No. 2 and 14-8 overall.
The Mustangs’ other senior, Georgiana Marta, has spent the majority of her final season at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. She holds a 12-6 overall record and is 3-0 when playing conference opponents.
Sophomores Kristen Reid and Monica Neveklovska round out the Mustang lineup. The players defend the No. 3 doubles spot, winning 14 of their 19 dual matches this season.
The C-USA Championship tournament begins today at the University of Tulsa. The top five seeds, Tulsa (No. 1), SMU (No. 2), Marshall (No. 3), UAB (No. 4) and Southern Mississippi (No. 5) all have first-round byes and will begin play Friday.
