SMU W-Tennis Defeats Louisiana Tech
{fshare id=5023}
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women’s tennis team tallied its fourth straight win as the Mustangs defeated Louisiana Tech, 5-2 in the team’s final regular season match on Saturday afternoon in Dallas. Sophomore Yana Erkeeva led the Mustangs as she won her third straight match following her win over Bulldog freshman Marta Sramkova in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 in the No. 4 singles match. Erkeeva is now 19-9 overall this season. SMU is back in action next week as it begins postseason play at the inaugural American Athletic Conference Tournament in Tampa, Fla. The Tournament begins on April 17 and ends on April 21.
“We earned this victory today,” head coach Kati Gyulai said. “We won the points that matter in games and didn’t get bothered by not winning all of the points we play.”
SMU (10-11) took the opening doubles point and then won at the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 singles positions to secure the match victory over Louisiana Tech (14-6).
In addition to Erkeeva in singles, sophomore Hristina Dishkova (19-14) grabbed the Mustangs first singles win as she beat Bulldog sophomore Joanna Nalborska in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 2 singles spot. Sophomore Vaszilisza Bulgakova (13-14) and freshman Anna Kate Anderson (14-13) won in straight sets for the Mustangs at the No. 3 and 5 singles spots.
In doubles, freshman Dasha Sharapova and Bulgakova improved
their overall record to an outstanding 16-4 following their 8-6 win at the No. 1 position over Louisiana Tech freshman Jazmin Britos and Nalborska. In addition, junior Holly Verner and Dishkova (13-4) and freshman Macie Elliott and Anderson (3-0) completed the sweep for SMU by winning at the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions.
“Today was a great way to close out the regular season on Senior Day,” Gyulai stated. “I am very pleased with the will and grit we showed in extremely difficult outdoor conditions.”
