Tarleton State Tennis competes in first Division I NCAA Tournament Saturday at No. 9 seed Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Tarleton State Tennis will make its Division I NCAA Tournament debut on Saturday, taking on No. 9 seed Texas at the Texas Tennis Center at 1 p.m.

The Texans will meet the Longhorns for the first time in women's tennis. Saturday's winner will take on Yale or Texas Tech in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday.

Tarleton State, the Western Athletic Conference champions, last made the NCAA Tournament in 2017. The Texans received an at-large bid to the Big Dance as a Division II program. Tennis will be the fourth athletic program at Tarleton State to compete for NCAA postseason in the Division I era (Football, Track & Field, Women's Golf).

As the No. 1 seed in the 2026 WAC Tournament, the Texans did not give up an opposing point en route to the title. The 4-0 win in the championship match against in-state rival Abilene Christian gave Tarleton State Athletics its fourth conference tournament title at the Division I level (Baseball - 2024, Women's Golf - 2025, Women's Indoor Track & Field - 2026).

Tarleton State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 17-7 overall record, including an 8-1 record in Stephenville. The Texans won over 75 percent of its matches in both singles and doubles play, combining for 88 singles wins and 46 doubles wins. It is the most singles and doubles wins in a season since the Texans transitioned into Division I.

The dominating performance in 2026 allowed Tarleton State to sweep all major awards from the WAC, receiving seven spots on All-WAC teams in the process. Sophomore Maria Castano earned WAC Player of the Year honors while Aya Ishii was named WAC Freshman of the Year. Head coach Elianne Douglas-Miron was named WAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career.

Castano and Ishii earned spots on the All-WAC First Team with seniors Emma Persson and Ximena Morales and freshman Marissa Minetti. Ishii and Minetti were named All-WAC First Team in doubles while Persson and Morales earned All-WAC Second Team honors in doubles.

Castano is the second player in the Division I era to earn WAC Player of the Year honors. After being named the 2025 WAC Freshman of the Year, Castano continued the momentum in the fall of her sophomore campaign. She won the singles title as the No. 1 seed at the WAC Fall Tennis Invitational, qualifying for the ITA Conference Masters Championships in San Diego. Castano, the Texans' leader in singles and doubles wins last year, also advanced to the Round of 32 in the singles main draw at the ITA Texas Regional Championships.

As the Texans' No. 1 singles player in 2026, Castano went 10-5 in singles on Court 1. She also compiled a 15-4 doubles record.

Ishii, the third Tarleton State freshman in the last four years to earn the WAC's top freshman honor, has been key during Tarleton State's historic season. Ishii, who leads the Texans in singles wins with an 18-3 record, clinched the deciding point in both of Tarleton State's WAC Tournament matches. The freshman from Japan began her collegiate career by winning the WAC Fall Invitational Doubles Title with Castano, advancing to the round of 16 at the ITA Conference Masters Championship to give the Texans their first victory in the event.

Tarleton State's four seniors anchored the Texans in 2026. Morales was named the WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player following Tarleton State's first conference tournament title. Morales, who also earned a spot on the All-WAC Tournament Team, finished singles play unbeaten in the conference tournament with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 victories and has a 17-3 singles record entering the NCAA Tournament.

Senior Adeliya Mukhutdinova was named to the All-WAC Tournament Team after being an All-WAC Second Team selection last year. Persson, the 2023 WAC Player and Freshman of the Year, earned four WAC weekly awards in 2026 en route to her second career All-WAC First Team honor. Senior Clara Sobius is a two-time WAC All-Tournament Team selection.

Texas, who is ranked No. 8 nationally, won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 and have qualified for the Super Regionals in the NCAA Tournament in five straight years. The Longhorns have alumnae that have played professionally, including 2026 ATX Open winner Peyton Stearns.

In 2026, 13 of the Longhorns' 17 wins were against nationally-ranked opponents. Texas defeated then defending national champions, Georgia, in the regular season before falling to the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament. Sophomore Carmen Herea qualified as an ITA All-American earlier this fall.

First serve for Saturday's match is set for 1 p.m. Live scoring (Sidearm) and live video (PlaySight) will be available through Texas Athletics.

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