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STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Tennis will host 11 matches at the Tarleton Tennis Facility and will play 23 contests overall in the 2026 spring slate. 

The Texans will also play a pair of teams that qualified for the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will face every Western Athletic Conference opponent before the conference tournament at the Arlington Tennis Center April 17-18. 

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. 

“We had a very successful fall, highlighted by 99 match wins and the singles and doubles WAC Fall Invitational championships,” head coach Elianne Douglas-Miron said. “That success sets a high standard for our team as we head into the spring. Our schedule is designed to prepare us for conference play, and our focus is on continuing to build, compete at a high level and put ourselves in position to win a team conference championship. I encourage all of Texan Nation to come out, watch some high quality tennis and support us as we pursue that goal.” 

Tarleton State opens the spring season Jan. 15 with a doubleheader in Norman, Oklahoma, starting with Wyoming in the morning and Oklahoma in the afternoon. Oklahoma finished the end of the 2025 season ranked No. 10 nationally and will be one of the two NCAA Tournament teams from last season the Texans will face. 

The Texans will then play seven straight home matches at the Tarleton Tennis Facility starting Jan. 23. After facing Weatherford College in the home opener, the Texans will play UTSA (Jan. 31) and former conference rival Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 1). SFA is the reigning Southland Conference champions and earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 

A doubleheader on Feb. 6 against Oral Roberts and Collin County Community College continues the Texans’ home slate. Tarleton State will play three matinees against McNeese (Feb. 8), Texas State (Feb. 14) and Incarnate Word (Feb. 15) to wrap up its home slate. 

After traveling to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to face South Alabama (Feb. 21) and Northwestern State (Feb. 22), the Texans return to Stephenville for a noon contest against App State on Feb. 27. Tarleton State then goes on a nine-match road trip, starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to face Kansas City (March 7) and Tulsa (March 8). The Texans will get their first look at a WAC opponent when they travel to UT Arlington on March 13 before facing UTRGV (March 15) in Austin, Texas.

Following a neutral site contest against Montana in St. George, Utah, the Texans will wrap up the March 28 doubleheader with WAC foe Utah Tech in the afternoon. The road trip finishes in April at Tyler Junior College (April 3) and Louisiana Tech (April 4) before returning home to complete the regular season. Tarleton State hosts North Texas (April 10) and Abilene Christian (April 11) for the final two matches of the season before the WAC Tournament. 

Under Douglas-Miron in five years at the Division I level, Tarleton State has won the WAC Coach of the Year award, the WAC Player of the Year award, the WAC Freshman of the Year award twice, and 18 All-Conference honors (eight Singles All-WAC First Team, one Doubles All-WAC First Team, seven Singles All-WAC Second Team, two Doubles All-WAC Second Team). The Texans have also earned 51 midseason monthly or weekly awards (six Singles Player of the Month, three Doubles Team of the Month, 20 Singles Player of the Week, and 22 Doubles Team of the Week).