Frogs Set for Metroplex Showdown at SMU
4/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 4, 2011
FORT WORTH -- The No. 65 TCU women's tennis team travels to the opposite side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex on Tuesday for a 2 p.m., matchup at No. 37 SMU's Turpin Tennis Center.
TCU (7-7) has picked up wins in five of its last six matches and recently went 2-1 over the weekend to open the Mountain West Conference season. The Frogs claimed 6-1 and 7-0 wins over BYU and New Mexico, respectively, while dropping a 5-2 decision to Utah.
Federica Denti and Katariina Tuohimaa, TCU's No. 1 doubles duo, have amassed a 9-5 record this spring and are 12-6 since joining as doubles partners in the fall. Overall this season, the TCU tandem is 3-3 against teams ranked in the top 80.
The Frogs went 6-3 in doubles matches over the weekend, sweeping the point in both wins. TCU is 6-1 this season when winning the doubles point.
In singles, Tuohimaa and Gaby Mastromarino are both on multiple-match winning streaks. The junior Mastromarino has won seven matches in a row and stands at 10-2 for the spring. She has won at Nos. 2 through 6 this season. Tuohimaa is 7-7 this season, including three in a row at the No. 1 spot.
The Mustangs enter the match at 15-4 overall and having won in six of their last seven outings. SMU picked up two Conference USA wins last weekend.
Individually, junior Marta Lesniak is 16-2 this spring and ranked No. 9 in the Campbell's/ITA College Tennis Rankings. Junior Aleksandra Malyarchikova is ranked No. 117 and has a 17-1 record this spring.
On the doubles courts, Lesniak and Heather Steinbuaer make up the nation's No. 42 doubles duo. They are 14-4 this spring and knocked off TCU's Denti and Tuohimaa, 8-5, during the fall.
In the lengthy series between the crosstown rivals, TCU holds a 26-18 all-time advantage. In their last meeting, SMU claimed a 7-0 win. In the series that dates back to 1975, TCU is 9-7 in matches played in Dallas. Since 1996, the Frogs hold a 12-3 advantage against their metroplex foe.
