Tarleton State Tennis starts 2026 season facing nationally-ranked Oklahoma, Wyoming Thursday

NORMAN, Okla. – Tarleton State Tennis begins the 2026 season with some of its toughest opponents of the year at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

The Texans will start the season against Mountain West Conference foe Wyoming at 11 a.m. before facing No. 6 nationally-ranked Oklahoma at 2 p.m.

Tarleton State had a fall season to remember in 2025, winning 99 matches to go with sweeping the WAC Fall Invitational titles. Sophomore Maria Castano (singles and doubles) and freshman Aya Ishii (doubles) earned the automatic bid to the ITA Conference Masters Championships in San Diego, where they picked up the program's first win at the event with a doubles victory against Richmond. Freshman Marissa Minetti, who went undefeated in singles in the fall, finished ranked No. 111 in the country by ITA.

Castano remains one of the top players in the WAC entering 2026 after earning WAC Freshman of the Year last season. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native led the Texans in singles (15) and doubles wins (13) in 2025. She also earned spots on the All-WAC First Team and All-WAC Tournament Team.

The Texans are also led by a strong senior class of four seniors in Ximena Morales, Adeliya Mukhutdinova, Emma Persson, and Clara Sobius. Morales went 11-6 in singles and 11-3 in doubles last season, while Mukhutdinova earned All-WAC Second Team honors after finishing 13-5 in singles.

Persson, the 2023 WAC Player of the Year, remains one of the top doubles players in the conference with a 12-4 mark last season. The five-time WAC Doubles Player of the Week award winner was named All-WAC Second Team for doubles in 2025. The Swedish senior was also one of two Texans to win a match in the ITA Texas Regional Championships main draw and advance to the Round of 32 this past fall.

Sobius enters her senior season as a force in doubles, posting 11 doubles wins in 2025. In addition to a 10-3 record at the No. 3 doubles position, Sobius had six singles wins last season. She is also a two-time All-WAC Tournament Team honoree.

Wyoming will play its season opener against the Texans coming off an eight-win season in 2025. The Cowgirls have three All-Mountain West honorees from 2025 returning to its roster this season. Wyoming has six players total with court time in 2025 playing this season.

Oklahoma enters the 2026 season as one of the top women's tennis programs in the country. The Sooners were the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament last season and return five players from the 2025 squad, including All-SEC selection Julia Garcia Ruiz. Oklahoma's fall season was highlighted by a historic doubles performance from Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, who earned ITA All-American honors and were semifinalists at the NCAA Individual Championships.

Live scoring through StatBroadcast and a video live stream through PlaySight will be available for both matches.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Castano: Sophomore

Ximena Morales: Senior

Adeliya Mukhutdinova: Senior

Emma Persson: Senior

Clara Sobius: Senior

Aya Ishii: Freshman

Marissa Minetti: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Maria Castano
: Sophomore

Ximena Morales
: Senior

Adeliya Mukhutdinova
: Senior

Emma Persson
: Senior

Clara Sobius
: Senior

Aya Ishii
: Freshman

Marissa Minetti
: Freshman