It isn’t quite the Iron Skillet Bowl, but it could called the Iron Skillet Match: The No. 52 TCU women’s tennis team will make the trip down Interstate 30 to face the university’s private school rival, No. 29 Southern Methodist University.
TCU (1-2) dropped its last match to Texas A&M, 6-1, Feb. 12 at College Station.
“We had a lot of opportunities early in the match,” TCU head tennis coach Dave Borelli said in a TCU Athletics release after the loss to the Aggies. “It’s going to be tough all year. We’ve got a tough schedule and we’re going to keep playing good teams.”
The Frogs were slated to play North Texas in a consolation match at the ITA Kickoff Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. on Jan. 29, but the match was canceled due to weather. TCU lost to Saint Mary’s the day before to kick off the tournament. The Frogs lone win for the season came in a 7-0 shutout of University of Texas-Pan American Jan. 22. The win was TCU’s only home match of the season.
The Frogs’ No. 1 doubles tandem, sophomore Federica Denti and senior Katariina Tuohimaa, are undefeated in spring play (3-0) and 8-2 overall since becoming partners in October.
SMU (8-2) won its third match in a row Saturday in Dallas, defeating Louisiana State, 5-2.
Mustangs’ juniors Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova defeated LSU’s Whitney Wolf and Keri Frankenberger 8212; the 39th-ranked doubles team in the nation.
SMU has won eight of its last 10 doubles matches this spring and is also undefeated at SMU’s Turpin Tennis Center in 2011.
“I was glad that we kept our momentum from doubles and took care of business in singles,” said SMU head women’s coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner in a SMU Athletics release. “With the way the wind was whipping around, I thought we handled the conditions a little better and kept our focus. LSU is a very scrappy team and I knew we would get their best effort. Now we have to get some rest before we play another tough opponent in TCU [today].”
TCU junior Gaby Mastromarino is 3-0 this season for the Frogs in singles. Mastromarino picked up TCU’s only point in the Texas A&M loss.
Lesniak is also the fifth-ranked singles player in the for SMU, with a 7-2 record this spring.
The Frogs lead the all-time series against the Mustangs 26-18. SMU, however, shut out the Frogs 7-0 in Fort Worth last season.
Who: No. 52 TCU at No. 29 SMU
When: Today at 6 p.m.
Where: Turpin Tennis Center 8212; Dallas
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