Women's tennis wins seventh straight over Houston Cougars

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Women's tennis wins seventh straight over Houston Cougars

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's tennis team got back in the win column Friday afternoon, defeating Houston for the seventh straight meeting 4-2 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. The win moves the Mustangs to 4-4 on the season, while Houston drops to 3-2.

"After a tough doubles point, we buckled down and fought. No match is easy on our schedule, and I'm proud of the way we responded to adversity," said head coach Jeff Nevolo post-match.

Sophie Llewellyn and Ellie Pittman earned the day's first win, making quick work of Houston's Iva Sepa and Krokhotina with a 6-0 victory. The Cougars responded by winning the other two courts 6-1 and 6-2 to take the doubles point.

Pittman improved to 2-0 on the day and evened the match on court two with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Iva Sepa. Houston regained the lead on court one as No. 94 Santa Strombacha defeated Sophie Llewellyn 6-2, 6-2. Drew Morris got a point back for the Mustangs, taking down Heta Nuutinen 6-2, 6-4 to level the score at two points each. The Mustangs closed the match with two gritty wins on courts four and six. Arianna Stavropoulos defeated Elizaveta Morozova 7-5, 6-3, and then Millie Skelton clinched the match in a three-set thriller with scores of 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Skelton improved to 5-1 in the dual singles matches. The duo of Llewellyn and Pittman earned their fifth doubles win of the spring, tied for the most on the team.

NEXT UP:
SMU will hit the road to battle former conference foe Rice on Friday, Feb. 14. First serve is set for 1 pm CT in Houston.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Mustangs by following SMU Women's Tennis on X @SMUWTennis, on Instagram @smuwtennis, and on Facebook @SMUWomensTennis or check out information online at smumustangs.com.

Results

SMU 4, Houston 2

Doubles
1. Santa Strombacha/Elizaveta Morozova (HOU) def. June Bjork/Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-2
2. Sophie Llewellyn/Ellie Pittman (SMU) def. Iva Sepa/Valeriia Krokhotina (HOU) 6-0
3. Sophie Schouten/Gabriela Cortes (HOU) def. No. 84 Drew Morris/Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) 6-2


Singles
1. No. 94 Santa Strombacha (HOU) def. Sophie Llewellyn (SMU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Ellie Pittman (SMU) def. Iva Sepa (SMU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Drew Morris (SMU) vs. Heta Nuutinen (HOU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) def. Elizaveta Morozova (HOU) 7-5, 6-3
5. June Bjork (SMU) vs. Sophie Schouten (HOU) 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 1-2 uf
6. Millie Skelton (SMU) def. Valeriia Krokhotina (HOU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3

(Order of finish: Doubles 2, 1, 3 / Singles 2, 1, 3, 4, 6)