Women's tennis tops Rice to reach AAC finale at 12 PM Sunday

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Defeat Rice To Secure Spot in AAC Championship Final | Sunday 12 p.m.

DALLAS — No. 1 seed SMU defeated No. 4 seed Rice, 4-2, to secure its spot in the final of American Athletic Conference Championship at the Stylsinger/Altec Tennis Complex. The Mustangs are seeking back-to-back titles, and will face Charlotte or Memphis on Sunday at noon.
The Mustangs started the match by winning the doubles point.

The duo of Taylor Johnson and Lana Mavor, currently ranked No 39 by the ITA, defeated Chie Kezuka/Federica Trevisan in a 6-3 win on court one.

Maja Makoric and freshman Millie Skelton paired to earn their second doubles win of the year, taking down Rice's Anushka Ashar and Divna Ratkovic — 6-2. This win secured the doubles point for SMU.

Drew Morris, a Houston native, earned the first singles win of the day over Darya Schwartzman. The junior took her down in two sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Lana Mavor secured her 16th win of the year, this time over Kezuka. Mavor swept her Rice opponent in two sets — 6-3, 6-4.

Johnson clinched the win for SMU, defeating Trevisan in three sets - 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

The Mustangs currently have an overall record of 12-11, including a 5-1 record in conference play. SMU, currently ranked no. 45 by the ITA, also boasts a home record of 9-2.

Up Next

The Mustangs advance to play either No.2 seed Charlotte or No. 3 Memphis in the finals match on Sunday at 12 p.m. — seeking to earn back-to-back titles for the first time in program history.
Doubles Scores:
Taylor Johnson/Lana Mavor def. Chie Kezuka/Federica Trevisan (Rice) - 6-3
Hadley Doyle/Drew Morris (SMU) vs. Saara Orav/Darya Schwartzman (Rice) - 4-4, UF
Maja Makoric/Millie Skelton (SMU) def. Anushka Ashar/Divna Ratkovic (Rice) - 6-2
Order of Finish - 3, 1
Singles Scores
Taylor Johnson (SMU) def. Federica Trevisan (Rice) - 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Drew Morris (SMU) def. Darya Schwartzman (Rice) - 6-4, 6-4
Hadley Doyle (SMU) vs Divna Ratkovic (Rice) - 6-4, 1-6, 5-6
Lana Mavor (SMU) def. Chie Kezuka (Rice) - 6-3, 6-4
Saara Orav (Rice) def. Maja Makoric (SMU) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Nithesa Selvaraj (Rice) def. Millie Skelton (SMU) - 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
Order of Finish - 2, 4, 5, 6, 1