SMU’s Pavis Francis and the Mustangs defeated the Louisville Cardinals this weekend in Kentucky. (Sarah Acosta)
The No. 43 SMU women’s tennis team was victorious on its first road trip of the season, beating both No. 70 Troy and No. 71 Louisville in Louisville, Ky. The Mustangs defeated the Trojans 5-2 on Saturday and dominated Louisville 6-1 on Sunday.
The women started out with doubles play as SMU’s No. 1 and No. 3 duos were able to get the point for the Mustangs. Sophomore Natalia Bubien and freshman Claire Reitsch defeated Rawia El Sisi and Claudia Strauss, who are ranked No. 46 nationally in doubles, 9-8 (7-5). Senior Jennifer Chay and freshman Pavi Francis teamed up for an 8-3 win at No. 3 over Trojans Nicole Shaw and Caroline Jounia.
Sophomore Kristen Reid was the first to finish her singles match at No. 6, winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, over Troy’s Nicole Shaw. Teammate Georgiana Marta followed suit, earning a victory over Troy’s No. 4 player Stephanie Vieria. Marta also won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Chay and Francis were unable to translate their doubles win into success in singles as both fell to their respective opponents. Chay lost at No. 2 to Annabelle Bares of Troy, 7-5, 6-4. At No. 5, Francis fought hard, but was unable to overtake Fabiana Gouvia. She lost the match 6-3, 6-7 (7-4), 4-6.
The Mustangs met the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday. Shorthanded due to illness and injury, the Cardinals defaulted the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles matches. SMU won the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, securing the doubles point.
In singles, the Mustangs lost only one match. At No. 4, Marta fell to Louisville’s Bianca Gorbea 5-7, 3-6. Bubien, Chay and Reitsch clinched victories at the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions respectively. Bubien finished her match first with a commanding 7-5, 6-0 win over Robyn White, and Reitsch wasn’t far behind, finishing second at 7-5, 6-3. Francis notched a win at No. 5, beating Natalie Baez 7-5, 7-5.
The Mustangs return home Feb. 17 to host Harvard at the Northwood Club. This starts a three-match homestand for the SMU women’s tennis team, which includes contests against North Carolina State and Texas State.
