WKU Women’s Tennis will face Sam Houston in the first round of the 2026 Conference USA Women’s Tennis Championship at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on April 15.
The match is significant as it marks an opportunity for WKU to advance in the conference tournament and continue a season where they have maintained consistent performance. The Lady Toppers finished their regular season with an overall record of 11-13 and went 2-2 against Conference USA opponents, earning them the No. 8 seed.
The team has achieved at least ten wins each season for five consecutive years, a feat previously matched only between 2009 and 2013. Over this period, WKU has accumulated a program-record total of 73 wins. They have also secured the doubles point in eight matches this year and remain undefeated when doing so.
Key players include Emily Schut, Virginia Madueño, and Barbara Olvera, each with ten doubles victories this season. Schut’s career total of twenty-four doubles wins ties her for twelfth-most in program history. Madueño leads singles play with a sixteen-win season—a figure tied for fifth-highest ever by a Lady Topper—and is particularly strong at the No. 3 position with six victories out of seven matches.
Head Coach Greg Davis now holds three hundred forty-eight career coaching wins and entered this season ranked twenty-third nationally among active NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis head coaches with at least five years’ experience. Davis said, “Had a very close match with Sam Houston at our place in March and we know they will be a very difficult match in the conference championship.” Wednesday’s contest will be only the second meeting between these teams; earlier this year Sam Houston defeated WKU by a score of five to two.
Sam Houston enters the tournament after finishing their regular season eight-twelve overall and three-two within Conference USA under Head Coach Rob Hubbard.
Looking ahead, both teams aim to progress further into postseason play as they compete for advancement within Conference USA.
