ST. GEORGE, Utah – Tarleton State Tennis will compete in the inaugural ITA College Tennis Weekend, playing a doubleheader against Montana and Utah Tech at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts on Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
The Texans return to action after 11 days off from play, entering Saturday's matches winning four out of their last five. Tarleton State has posted the best record in the Western Athletic Conference thus far with an 11-5 mark.
After defeating Hillsdale College 7-0 entering Spring Break on March 17, Tarleton State improved its home record to 7-0 in 2026. Tarleton State, who has won 18 straight home matches, has not lost a home match since the 2023-24 season.
St. George is no stranger to the Texans as the team took home a pair of titles at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts this past fall. The Texans captured the first WAC championship crowns of the 2025-26 season, sweeping the singles and doubles titles of the WAC Fall Tennis Invitational in October.
Sophomore Maria Castano took home the singles crown after defeating Abilene Christian's Masha Vrsalovic in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. The No. 1 seed's title marks back-to-back years that Tarleton State took home the WAC Fall Invitational singles crown, with Noelia Lorca taking the title in the event's first year last fall.
Freshman Aya Ishii took home the doubles title with Castano, defeating Vrsalovic and Alice Klinteby from Abilene Christian 6-3, 7-6(9). This was the first WAC Fall Invitational doubles title for the Texans in program history.
The titles allowed Castano and Ishii to qualify for the ITA Conference Masters Championships in San Diego. Castano and Ishii advanced to the round of 16 in doubles, marking the first victory in singles or doubles for the Texans at the ITA Conference Masters Championship. It was the first time the Texans had representation in both singles and doubles at the ITA Conference Masters Championship.
Ishii has continued to lead the Texans this spring, winning the most matches in singles (12) and doubles (11) on the team in 2026. The Japanese freshman is a two-time WAC Singles Player of the Week winner and a three-time WAC Doubles Player of the Week honoree.
Montana has posted wins over South Dakota and Lewis-Clark State in 2026, having an overall record of 2-10. Kelsey Phillips leads Montana in singles with a 7-5 record, pairing with Meghna Anand to also tally five doubles victories.
Utah Tech returns seven letterwinners from last year's team, including All-WAC honoree Maya Inouye. Freshman Cameron Hendrix leads Utah Tech with 10 singles wins in 2026 while Inouye and Nutsa Tsintsadze lead the doubles duos with eight wins as a team.
Fans can follow the action through live scoring provided by iOnCourt. The matches will not be video streamed.
