The SMU women’s tennis team (10-1) scored a big victory over cross-town rival TCU, 7-0, last Wednesday, Feb. 17 in Fort Worth.

With the victory, they jumped into the top 25 and are currently sitting at No. 21 in the nation. Now, they will travel to Columbia, Mo. to prove they deserve their new rank.

The Mustangs will play the University of Missouri and the University of Louisville over the weekend, and SMU will easily be the favored team to win both matches.

The Missouri Tigers are 3-3 on the season after a victory in their last match against Saint Louis University.

The Louisville Cardinals are 5-3 but have lost their last two, the most recent one against No. 25 DePaul University.

A critical reason for the Mustangs’ continued success has been the play of its top two sophomores: Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova.

Lesniak is currently ranked No. 47 in the nation while Malyarchikova is No. 76. Neither girl has lost in singles thus far this year; both are 9-0 on the season in singles.

However, other players are also stepping up for SMU, including freshmen Shahzoda Hatamova, Edyta Cieplucha and Katerina Vankova, all three of whom won their singles matches against the Horned Frogs last week.

Hatamova and Cieplucha in particular have been impressive: Hatamova is 9-1 in singles on the season while Cieplucha is perfect at 6-0.

Doubles has also been a strong point for the Mustangs, especially after head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner tweaked with the lineup before the match against TCU.

“The doubles finally clicked,” she said in an interview with smumustangs.com. “We put new teams together and it worked which we are thrilled about.”

The Mustangs’ only loss came back in January against Florida International. Since that loss, SMU has won six straight games, and they do not look to stop any time soon.