Men’s tennis dominates in 7-0 win against UT Rio Grande Valley
On Feb. 22, men’s tennis swept UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) 7-0, closing the day with three wins from the remaining matches.
On court two, junior Vikas Deo and freshman Xavier Calvelo emerged victorious in their doubles match against UTRGV’s Sam Whitehead and Will Roberts (6-2). To Deo and Calvelo’s left, the Bulgarian freshman Georgi Georgiev and senior Maks Silagy won another doubles point for the Mustangs against UTRGV’s Santiago Serrano and Loic Young (7-5).
On court three, UTRGV’s Ivo Isqueiro and Eduardo Menezes broke freshman Hughes Peus’ serve, costing him and his partner Ofek Shimanov their doubles point (6-3). Although their loss was disappointing, both Peus and Shimanov did not let that affect their sportsmanship or the trajectory of the rest of the match.
“There was a moment there we definitely thought we’d come back,” Peus said. “In those moments it’s important to project your positivity outward, which can definitely shift the momentum.”
Peus’ mentality foreshadowed the singles matches, starting with Georgiev’s victory over Isqueiro (6-3, 6-3), earning his third consecutive singles win and remaining undefeated in six consecutive matches. Known as “6-0, 6-0” by the SMU tennis community, Georgiev is currently ranked No. 117 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
With one singles point on the board, Deo went head-to-head with UTRGV’s Isaac Smyth and emerged victorious in a nail-biter of a set (6-2, 6-1). Next, Silagy faced Serano, and clinched the match for SMU (6-3, 6-1). Mustang fans and supporters embraced each other, pleased with the SMU’s steady performance guiding them to victory.
In the spirit of sportsmanship and continuing momentum for both teams, UTRGV and SMU played out the remainder of the matches. The ITA’s No. 94 ranked player Jerry Barton prevailed over UTRGV’s Sam Whitehead (6-7, 6-3, 10-8). Today marked the junior from Bedford, Texas’ first match as a ranked player.
SMU men’s tennis will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi at home on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Women’s tennis clinches wins against Louisville and Incarnate Word following loss to Notre Dame
SMU women’s tennis had an ambitious schedule this weekend, kicking Friday off with a match versus Notre Dame and two matches Sunday against Louisville and Incarnate Word. With two ACC matches lined up, the SMU Mustangs kept in high spirits regardless of Friday’s loss.
Although the wet courts caused a delay of the match against Louisville, the late start did not affect SMU women’s tennis as they went 2-0 on Sunday, defeating Louisville (4-1) and Incarnate Ward (4-0).
“The team’s worked really hard all season,” Head Coach Jeff Nevolo said. “Every time we get to play an ACC opponent, it’s a good measurement for how much progress we are making.”
Nevolo used the same singles lineup as Friday, allowing the team to see what they’ve learned since Friday’s loss. Changes were made to the doubles pairings to see what works best for the team.
As the Mustangs warmed up for the doubles games, a new pair made their way to court three. Freshman Kayla Schefke and graduate student Arianna Stavropoulos would make their first-ever appearance as a pair for SMU women’s tennis during the Louisville match.
Schefke and Stavropoulos proved their pairing worthy, winning the Mustangs their first doubles point against Louisville’s Elena Noguero and Berta Miret (6-2).
Continuing their streak to four straight doubles wins as a pairing, Sophie Llewellyn and Ellie Pittman defeated Louisville’s Allie Gretkowski and Lika Peresypkina (6-1). The pair’s communication and swift reactions to each ball gained them leverage over Louisville.
“Come on!” Llewellyn said, high-fiving Pittman joyfully. As SMU women’s tennis’ number one player, Llewellyn’s energetic commentary and neon, coral-colored tennis shoes make her games one to watch for fans.
“We’ve had Sophie up at one this season, but we don’t have a huge gap from one to eight,” Nevolo said. “Sophie up at one has the weapons to play against the top players at a lot of teams.”
Drew Morris and Caroline McGinley fought hard against Louisville’s Elisabeth Lila and Alice Otis, a pair ranked No. 82 (4-4). Their match was unfinished, but remained competitive throughout. Nevolo strives to keep a high level of competitive spirit and determination with the younger roster this season.
“Having such a new roster felt as though I was starting the program over,” Nevolo said. “When I got here five years ago, our goal was to win the American Conference and we were able to do that two years in a row. What got us here is not necessarily going to get us to the next level, which would be competing for an ACC championship.”
