The No. 22 SMU women’s tennis team capped off a record-breaking season with a 5-2 win over the Rice Owls (11-11) Friday in Houston.
The victory was the 14th in a row for the Mustangs (24-2, 3-0 Conference USA), who will be the top seed in this weekend’s C-USA Championships.
“It was a tough-fought match,” said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner. “I don’t think we played our best … But I think that it was a good wake-up call for us.”
In the top doubles slot, freshmen Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova defeated the Owls’ Julie Chao and Ana Guzman (8-2) to improve their record to 11-0.
Junior Nicole Briceño and senior Kseniia Tokarieva helped secure the doubles point with a comeback win (9-7) over Rice’s Alex Rasch and Rebekka Hänle.
Lesniak – ranked the No. 58 singles player in the nation – went on to take the top match against Chao in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).
Briceño and Tokarieva also picked up straight-set singles wins to clinch the victory for SMU.
“It was good for us to go down there and feel the court and the atmosphere,” Longbotham-Meisner said. “They came out there ready to play.”
The Mustangs will return to Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston Thursday for the first round of the C-USA Championships, and Longbotham-Meisner feels her team is better prepared for the conditions after the game against Rice.
“The weather was hot and very, very humid,” she said. “Everything was a good indication of how it’s going to be.”
While the matchups for this weekend’s tournament have yet to be released, Longbotham-Meisner knows not to take any conference opponent lightly.
“When you look at the conference championships we’re the underdog,” she said, “because we’ve been the No. 1 seed and not performed. This year we’re hoping to change that.”
The team finishes the regular season schedule with a remarkable .920 winning percentage. The Mustangs’ only two losses this season came within a week of each other in mid-February.
After falling to Louisiana State University (6-1) Feb. 6 in Baton Rouge, SMU dropped a Valentine’s Day matinee at home against the Missouri Tigers (5-2).
“I look back at the two losses we had,” Longbotham-Meisner said, “and there was some lesson we had to learn.”
The Mustangs will take those lessons and an exceptional hot streak to Houston for the C-USA Championships, which run through Sunday at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
After establishing new school records for wins in a season and consecutive victories, however, Longbotham-Meisner knows her team cannot afford to let the hard work and intensity dwindle heading into the tournament.
“”We’re excited, and there’s obviously a bit of confidence,” she said. “But we’ve got to actually earn this championship if we want it. If we don’t win, it will be a disappointment, and that’s the way we play.”