SMU Women’s Tennis Downs UCSB
DALLAS, Texas (SMU) – With the No. 33 SMU Women’s Tennis Team’s 6-1 victory over No. 66 UC-Santa Barbara, head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner broke the program’s career wins record. Meisner’s career record now stands at 95-27 (.779) after just five years at the helm of the Mustangs and her team improved to 13-4 this spring.
Meisner broke the previous mark set by Owen McHaney in one fewer season. McHaney went 94-80 (.540) from 1982-1987.
As has been its calling card this season, SMU won the doubles point in dominant fashion to help set the tone for the afternoon.
Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova downed Natalia Lozano and Jordan Dockendorf, 8-3, at the top doubles line.
Edyta Cieplucha and Heather Steinbauer clinched the doubles point for the Mustangs with identical 8-3 over Jill Damion and Kiersten Meehan at No. 3.
To cap things off, Shahzoda Hatamova and Kris Roberts notched just their second win as a duo this spring with a dominant 8-2 win against Sofia Novak and Paola Cos.
Singles play saw the same strong and focused play from SMU and the team was able to grab the victory quickly on the hot and humid spring day.
Lesniak, the nation’s No. 9 singles player, downed Lozano 6-2, 6-2, at the top singles line. The junior from Poland has won her last 10 matches and is 14-2 this spring and 32-5 overall this season.
Cieplucha also wasted little time in defeating Damion at No. 2, 6-2, 6-1, and is now 11-5 this spring.
Malyarchikova won her ninth consecutive match, her first this spring at No. 3, when she took out Novak 6-0, 6-2. The native of Belarus is now 14-1 this spring.
Steinbauer also won her 11th match this season, downing Dockendorf 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4, while
the final SMU win came at No. 5 where Hatamova took out Cos, 6-4, 6-3.
“Today was another solid win,” said Meisner. “I thought our doubles play was strong and we carried the same intensity over to singles. I am honored to have the career record and I am sure someday I will realize how special this is, but I really don’t look at personal accomplishments. Right now I’m just focused on helping the team improve so we can achieve our goal of winning the C-USA Championship.”
With the career mark now in hand, Meisner will seek to become the first SMU Women’s Tennis coach to 100 career wins.
SMU returns to action on Saturday, April 2, when it travels to Orlando, Fla. to do battle with Conference USA foe UCF. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT. The Mustangs will also play against Florida International while in the Sunshine State. First serve for the match in Miami on Sunday is also set for 10 a.m. CT.
No. 33 SMU 6, UC-Santa Barbara 1
SINGLES
1. No. 9 Marta Lesniak (SMU) def. Natalia Lozano (UCSB), 6-2, 6-2
2. Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Jill Damion (UCSB), 6-2, 6-1
3. Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) def. Sofia Novak (UCSB), 6-0, 6-2
4. Heather Steinbauer (SMU) def. Jordan Dockendorf (UCSB), 6-4, 6-4
5. Shahzoda Hatomova (SMU) def. Paola Cos (UCSB), 6-4, 6-3
6. Kiersten Meehan (UCSB) def. Kris Roberts (SMU), 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 3, 1*, 4, 5
DOUBLES
1. Lesniak/Malyarchikova (SMU) def Lozano/Dockendorf (UCSB), 8-3
2. Cieplucha/Steinbauer (SMU) def. Damion/Meehan (UCSB), 8-3
3. Roberts/Hatamova (SMU) def. Novak/Cos (UCSB), 8-2
