SMU men’s tennis opens ACC play at Virginia Tech and No. 2 Virginia as No. 1 Trevor Svajda enters 9-0 without dropping a set.
DALLAS - SMU men’s tennis opens its ACC schedule with zero warmup laps. The No. 38 Mustangs (8-5) hit the road for a Friday matchup at Virginia Tech before turning around to face No. 2 Virginia on Sunday - a brutal one-two punch to start conference play. If you’re going to measure where you stand nationally, this is how you do it.
The storyline, as always, begins with Trevor Svajda. The nation’s No. 1-ranked singles player enters the weekend with a spotless 9-0 record this spring, and he hasn’t dropped a single set.
Let that sink in. Nine matches. Zero sets lost. He’s already collected four ranked wins this spring and was perfect (3-0) at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Svajda looks less like a contender and more like a champion.
If things fall into place Sunday, fans could see a heavyweight clash between Svajda and Virginia’s No. 2 Dylan Dietrich. That’s a potential NCAA preview.
SMU heads into the trip with momentum after sweeping a three-match homestand, pushing its overall record to 8-5. The Mustangs also notched a signature win over No. 22 Arizona State at ITA Indoors — their highest-ranked victory since 2023.
But this weekend is about depth. Virginia brings four ranked singles players and multiple ranked doubles teams. That means players like Alex Finkelstein (No. 96 ITA singles) and transfers Krish Arora and Matthew Faraci will have to hold serve - literally and figuratively.
SMU has historically handled Virginia Tech well, winning twice last season, including in the ACC Tournament. Virginia, however, has been a tougher riddle to solve.
Starting ACC play on the road against a top-two team isn’t convenient. It’s intentional. If SMU wants to be a national factor, this is where the climb begins.