DALLAS, Texas – Entering the 2023-24 campaign with a surplus of confidence, the Concordia Texas women’s tennis team is ready to take the reigns as the top team in the American Southwest Conference. The Tornados kick off the spring campaign this Friday where they will host Texas Lutheran. Concordia Texas was predicted to finish second in the ASC’s west division as this marks the third consecutive year that CTX was forecasted to place second in the division. They also picked up all three first-place votes, which is their most since the 2019-20 season.
Overall, the Tornados bring back five of their six All-ASC members from the 2022-23 season where they won a program-best 13 matches in a single season. The includes Isabella Cepeda, Trinity Klamecki, Kayla Pena, Kaitlin Stevens and the reigning ASC Coach of the Year Jeff Bramlett. Cepeda, alongside freshman Emilly Pullen, has been recognized on the 2024 ASC Preseason Players to Watch List.
Last season, Cepeda was named the ASC West Freshman of the Year. She was also only one of two first-year players to be named to the ASC All-Conference Team in singles and doubles in 2023. In singles action, she went 13-3 overall, and 10-2 (4-0 in conference play) on line three where she is already the program’s winningest player on that line.
Pullen, a freshman from Tucson, Arizona, showed promise at the ITA Regional last fall. In doubles play at the tournament, the two-star recruit and Klamecki made it all the way to the championship match of flight B where they were only a few points away from claiming the title.
Click here to view the full ASC preview.
The Tornados will hit the ground rolling following their match against TLU on Friday as they will immediately turn around and travel to Brownwood to take on Howard Payne this Saturday at 2pm. Following a two-week hiatus, the women’s team will travel to San Antonio for a matchup with Trinity on February 16th and then another road match in Houston at St. Thomas on the 17th.
The following week, CTX will enjoy the friendly confines of home by hosting four straight matches. They will first host Schreiner on the 23rd and LeTourneau on the 24th before taking on Covenant College (Ga.) in a match at Southwestern University on February 29th.
Moving into the month of March, Concordia will face off with ETBU on the 2nd. They will then have three weeks of rest and preparation prior to kicking off ASC divisional play where they will travel to Abilene to play McMurry on March 23rd. Immediately afterwards on the same day, Concordia will play Sul Ross State (who is no longer considered a divisional opponent). CTX will end non-conference play up the road at Southwestern on April 2nd.
Heading back into divisional play, the Tornados will host Hardin-Simmons in their final regular season home match on April 6th. They will then hit the road for Austin College on April 13th and UT Dallas on April 14th. The following week on April 20th, Concordia will polish off the regular season at UMHB. The 2024 ASC Women’s Tennis Championship will be held April 25-27 at the site hosted by the No. 1 Seed in the East Division. The top three seeds from each division qualify for the tournament with a single elimination format.
Click here to view the schedule.
2024 ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
EAST DIVISION
Rank Team (1st place votes) Pts. 2023 Record (ASC)
1. UT Dallas (9) 45 13-7 (4-0)
2. East Texas Baptist 35 12-7 (3-1)
3. LeTourneau 27 5-10 (5-10)
4. Howard Payne 14 1-12 (1-3)
5. Ozarks 14 2-15 (0-4)
WEST DIVISION
Rank Team (1st place votes) Pts. 2023 Record (ASC)
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (5) 30 8-10 (2-2)
2. Concordia Texas (3) 28 13-4 (3-1)
3. Hardin-Simmons (1) 22 11-6 (4-0)
4. McMurry 10 6-11 (1-3)
$ – Sul Ross State – 0-10 (0-4)
$ – Ineligible for ASC and NCAA Championships
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the CTX women’s tennis program, follow us on social media (@ctxathletics) and visit athletics.concordia.edu.