SMU women’s tennis beat Wichita State 4-1 in Norman, advancing to the NCAA second round behind Amelie Van Impe’s clincher.
SMU women’s tennis is moving on in the NCAA Championships after delivering one of its strongest team performances of the season.
The No. 26 Mustangs beat No. 34 Wichita State 4-1 on Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma, advancing to the second round for the third time in four seasons. SMU improved to 16-7 in its first year under head coach Kelcy McKenna and will face either No. 6 Oklahoma or Kansas on Sunday.
The Mustangs set the tone early by winning the doubles point for the 19th time this season. The No. 31 pair of Amelie Van Impe and Caroline McGinley beat No. 46 Giorgia Roselli and Xin Tong Wang 6-3 on court one, improving to 16-2 as a duo.
Sophie Llewellyn and Natalie Stasny then rallied from a 5-4 deficit to win 7-5 on court two and clinch doubles.
Freshman Ellie Mireles gave SMU its first singles point with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kristina Kudryavtseva on court five. Wichita State answered on court four, but McGinley restored control with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback against No. 97 Theodora Chantava.
Van Impe finished it from there. The ACC Freshman of the Year and No. 25 singles player defeated Wang 6-3, 6-4 on court one, extending her winning streak to eight matches and improving to 14-3 this season.
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The victory also avenged SMU’s January loss to Wichita State and marked McKenna’s first NCAA Tournament win with the Mustangs.
SMU will play its Round of 32 match Sunday at 2 p.m. CT at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
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