No. 34 SMU Women’s Tennis Defeats No. 62 Rice, 5-2
HOUSTON (SMU) – The No. 34 SMU Women’s Tennis team held off a feisty Rice squad on Saturday at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, dispatching of their C-USA rival by a final score of 5-2. The Mustangs have now won five consecutive matches and eight of their last nine contests to run their overall record to 17-4.
SMU claimed the early 1-0 lead when it won the doubles point with victories at the top two doubles lines.
Heather Steinbauer and Edyta Cieplucha easily took out the pair of Alex Rasch and Dominique Harmath at No. 2, 8-3, while moments later Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova downed Rebekka Hanle and Ana Guzman at No. 1, 8-2, to gain the early advantage.
“I was really proud of our intensity that we began the day with in doubles,” said head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner. “Rice has won a lot of doubles points this year and I knew that it would be crucial win that point to put us in a good position to win the match.”
In singles, Lesniak, the nation’s No. 9 singles player, kept her momentum going and defeated Hanle in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5, to put SMU in the lead 2-0. The junior from Poland has now won 14 consecutive matches and 18 overall this spring. Her 36 total wins this season are good for third place on the program’s all-time single season wins list.
Lesniak is also now in fifth place on the all-time career wins list. She currently has 79 career victories in her three-year stint on the Hilltop.
After Rice briefly tied the match at two apiece, SMU rallied for the final three decisions to close out the win.
Steinbauer handled Guzman at No. 4, 6-3, 6-3, to put SMU back in front at 3-2.
Malyarchikova then clinched the match for SMU when she took out Jessica Jackson in a three-set thriller at No. 3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. The junior from Belarus is now 17-1 on the spring season.
Shahzoda Hatamova secured SMU’s fifth and final win at No. 5, taking out Daniella Trigo, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Hatamova improved to 12-6 on the spring with the win.
“I thought in singles we put ourselves in a good position again by winning four first sets,” said Meisner. “Marta and Heather really closed out their second sets strong, and I can never say enough about Sasha (Malyarchikova) and how she battles. She is just a fighter. She never gives in. Even when she split sets, I knew she would come back strong to close her match out and get us the win. I also want to say how proud I am of Shaha (Hatamova). She also really battled to win her third set and I think this victory will give her a lot of confidence.”
Saturday’s win improved Meisner’s career record to 99-27 (.786). The fifth-year head coach broke the program’s career wins record with her 95th victory and with another triumph on Sunday will then become the first women’s tennis coach to notch 100 career wins.
SMU returns to courts on Sunday morning also in Houston when take on the University of Houston. The match with the Cougars will begin at 9:30 a.m.
