Women's tennis climbs in national poll

[PonyPride]

Women's Tennis launches up ITA poll to No. 46
Mustangs are 7-4 on the season

March 8, 2006

DALLAS (SMU) - Last weekend the Mustangs were ranked No. 74 and pulled a huge upset against No. 30 Purdue. Perhaps the best performance came from the doubles duo of Svetlana Kouzmenko and Natalia Bubien as they defended the No. 1 doubles spot and came out with a huge 8-3 win over No. 37 Purdue duo of Hala Sufi and Mallory Voelker. Kouzmenko also defended the No. 1 singles spot with a win over No. 100 Sufi. This week, the Mustangs shot up the charts to No. 46, which is their highest ranking since Jan. 11, 2005 (No. 44).

"That was a real big jump for us to jump 30 spots in the poll," said head coach Rob Howarth. "That ranking was not only good nationally, but also in the conference. It helps us get that No. 1 seed that we want for the conference tournament, which right now we are No. 1 in the conference. It is a big confidence builder for the girls, to know that they can play at the level."

The Red and Blue are 7-4 on the season as they head to California to compete in the San Diego Invite. The invitational is slated for March 10-12.

"The three teams we are going to play are all ranked teams. It is a very, very strong invitational," Howarth said. "The tournament is a good opportunity to move up a little more in the rankings. San Diego is a good trip and I like to take fun trips over spring break to let the girls get away but also get them ready to compete."

SMU will first face No. 44 San Diego, Fri., March 10 at 1:30 p.m. San Diego is 5-3 on the season and is led by No. 100 Emma Murphy as she is 6-2 in No. 1 singles competition.

Next up for the Mustangs is No. 56 St. Mary's of California on Sat., March 11 at 9 a.m. St. Mary's is 4-3 on the season is led by Aude Lambart at the No. 1 singles spot with a record of 5-2.

The Red and Blue will wrap up the invitational with a though match on Sun. March 12 at 9 a.m. against No. 61 South Florida (5-2). The Bulls have three ranked singles and one ranked doubles duo. No. 53 Neyssa Etienne defends the No. 1 singles spot with a 5-1 record while No. 38 Courtney Veron remains undefeated at the No. 2 singles with a record of 6-0. No. 69 Liz Cruz fills the No. 3 spot and is also undefeated at 5-0. The duo of Gabriela Duch and Etienne are ranked No. 12 with a 5-1 record at the No. 1 doubles spot.

The Mustangs will use the momentum and confidence of the Purdue upset and the jump in the polls to compete well this weekend before returning to their home courts.

[Water Pony]

Thanks for the post. Upward mobility is encouraging in all our sports. This has been an area of strength in the past.

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