SMU tennis scored a major ITA awards haul as Amelie Van Impe, Trevor Svajda and Jerry Barton earned regional recognition.
SMU tennis just put a serious stamp on its rising national profile.
Freshman Amelie Van Impe, junior Trevor Svajda and veteran leader Jerry Barton all earned ITA Texas Region honors, giving the Mustangs another loud reminder that both programs are building real momentum in the ACC era.
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Van Impe was named ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year after a monster debut season with SMU women’s tennis.
The Belgium native became just the third Mustang to win the regional rookie honor since the award began in 2001, joining Marta Lesniak in 2009 and Jacquie Nylander in 2020.
That wasn’t her only hardware, either.
Van Impe also earned ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC Singles First Team and All-ACC Doubles Second Team recognition after arriving on the Hilltop in January and immediately taking over the top of the lineup.
Her singles record says everything. Van Impe went 14-3 in dual matches, 7-2 in ACC play and handled court one in nearly every outing.
She also went 5-2 against ranked singles opponents, including wins over No. 1 Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina and No. 13 Berta Passola Folch of California.
Van Impe climbed as high as No. 21 nationally in singles and finished No. 28, the best final singles ranking by an SMU player since 2011. In doubles, she went 17-2 overall and 7-2 in ACC matches.
Alongside Caroline McGinley, Van Impe finished No. 16 nationally, the highest final doubles ranking for an SMU pair since 1989.
The men’s program landed its own statement awards.
Svajda was named ITA Regional Player to Watch after a dominant 2025-26 season.
He earned two All-America honors, reached the NCAA Singles Championship round of 16 and finished No. 4 in the final ITA singles rankings.
He also held the No. 1 spot four times, stayed inside the top five all spring and went 21-3 in dual singles with nine ranked wins.
Overall, Svajda finished 32-6 with 16 ranked victories, tying himself to SMU history as the fourth-winningest single-season singles player in program history.
Barton earned the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award, honoring character, sportsmanship, academics and tennis achievement.
He captained SMU during its ACC transition and helped lead the Mustangs to their first NCAA Championship match win since 2016.
Barton’s “giving back” philosophy has become part of the team’s identity. He also earned multiple academic honors and went 17-7 in spring singles while playing mostly at line five.
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SMU finished No. 29 in the final ITA team rankings, its best finish since 2022.
The Mustangs aren’t sneaking up anymore.
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