Both SMU tennis teams are gearing up for a busy weekend. The men’s team hosts Southeastern Oklahoma and Illinois State on Saturday at the Bent Tree Country Club. The women’s team embarks on its first road trip of the season, facing both No. 70 Troy and No. 71 Louisville at Louisville, Ky.
The No. 39 ranked men’s team is 1-2 after falling to No. 12 Texas and No. 23 Clemson earlier this month. SMU’s No. 1 player, Alex Skrypko, managed to defeat 2006 NCAA quarterfinalist No. 46 Clement Reix in the loss to Clemson. No. 2 senior Federico Murgier lost both of his singles matches against Texas and Clemson, but managed a doubles win with teammate Skrypko over Texas’ No. 1 pair.
This weekend marks Illinois’ first dual matches as they face the University of Texas-Arlington on Friday before taking on the Mustangs. SMU plays the Redbirds at 1 p.m. before taking on SEOSU at 4 p.m.
The No. 43 ranked SMU women’s team is hitting the road this weekend. The Mustangs are 1-0 this season after a 5-0 victory over the University of Texas-San Antonio last weekend. Sophomore Natalia Bubien leads the Mustangs at No. 1 with teammates Jennifer Chay, Georgiana Marta and Claire Reitsch filling in the rest of the lineup. Bubien teams up with freshman Reitsch at the No. 1 doubles spot as well.
This is the first dual match for No. 70 ranked Troy, who is led by sophomore Rawia El Sisi and doubles partner Claudi Strauss. The Trojan pair is currently ranked No. 46 in the nation for doubles.
The Mustangs will face No. 71 Louisville on Sunday. The Cardinals are 2-2 this season with wins over Marquette and Iowa and a loss to Vanderbilt. Junior Robyn White helped Louisville upset No. 36 Iowa with victories at both the No. 1 singles and doubles positions.
The women return home for a four-match stint beginning on Feb. 8. The Mustangs will face teams from the University of Texas-Arlington, Harvard, North Carolina State and Texas State.
The men’s team hits the road on Feb. 23 to play Iowa and Minnesota before returning to Dallas to face Baylor and VCU.
