Tarleton State Tennis travels to ACU for second tournament of fall season

ABILENE, Texas– Tarleton State Tennis is on the road this weekend to compete in its second tournament of the fall season, traveling to Abilene Christian for the ACU Invite at the Cecil and Judi Eager Tennis Pavilion.

Matches will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday, beginning with doubles followed by singles. Sunday will feature singles play to conclude the tournament.

Tarleton State opened its fall season with a strong showing at the Cowgirl Invite at the Nancy Hank Tennis Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, last weekend. The Texans came away with an impressive 19 combined victories, earning eight wins in doubles play and 11 in singles competition.

Sophomore Aya Ishii, the 2026 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, won all three of her singles matches. Freshmen Nuria Lafitte-Valls and Anna Huisgen kicked off their collegiate careers with three doubles wins. Junior Maria Castano, the 2026 WAC Player of the Year, and freshman Erika Abraham-Nilsen also earned three doubles wins.

Tarleton State attended the ACU Invite in the fall of 2025 and won four draws, with Marissa Minetti winning her respective singles draw without dropping a set.

Host ACU will compete in the tournament as a familiar opponent for Tarleton State after both programs competed in the event last fall. ACU finished last season with a 9-14 record and qualified for the WAC Tournament, where the Wildcats were defeated by Tarleton State, 4-0.

UT Arlington will also compete in the ACU Invite. UTA completed last season with a 6-14 record. The Lady Mavs are familiar opponents for the Texans, as Tarleton State defeated UTA twice during the 2026 spring season which included a 4-0 victory in the WAC Tournament Semifinals. UTA also competed in the ACU Invite last fall and was highlighted by six combined singles victories.

SMU will also compete in the ACU Invite after facing ACU in each of the last three seasons. The Mustangs won their most recent matchup against the Wildcats, 6-1, at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. Last season, SMU finished with a 16-8 record and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma.

UNT will make its first recent appearance at the ACU Invite this weekend. UNT finished last season with a 17-9 record and earned a bid to the 2026 UTR NIT Championship. UNT concluded its season with a narrow 4-3 loss to College of Charleston in the quarterfinals at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Players to watch for Tarleton State include Ishii, Castano, Lafitte-Valls, Huisgen and Abraham-Nilsen. Ishii enters the ACU Invite after going undefeated in singles play at the Cowgirl Invite, while Lafitte-Valls, Huisgen, Castano and Abraham-Nilsen each found success in doubles competition.

First serve for the ACU Invite is set for 9 a.m. on Friday.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Castano: Sophomore

Aya Ishii: Freshman

Marissa Minetti: Freshman

Anna Huisgen: 5' 2"; Freshman

Erika Abraham-Nilsen: 5' 8"; Freshman

Nuria Lafitte-Valls: 5' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Maria Castano
: Sophomore

Aya Ishii
: Freshman

Marissa Minetti
: Freshman

Anna Huisgen
: 5' 2"; Freshman

Erika Abraham-Nilsen
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Nuria Lafitte-Valls
: 5' 3"; Freshman