Friday, January 16
Dallas, Texas
9:00 AM MT
Air Force Academy
at
SMU
Women’s Tennis Opens Duals at SMU, No. 2 Texas A&M
1/15/2026 11:59:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Match 1: Air Force at SMU
Friday, Jan. 16 | 9 a.m. MT
Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex | Dallas, Texas
Watch | Live Scoring
Match 2: Air Force at No. 2 Texas A&M
Sunday, Jan. 18 | 12 p.m. MT
Mitchell Tennis Center | College Station, Texas
Live Scoring
Air Force Women's Tennis is in full swing this weekend, as the Falcons open the 2026 dual season with a pair of Power Four contests at SMU and No. 2 Texas A&M on Jan. 16 and 18, respectively.
Picking Up Where We Left Things:
The Falcons underwent their largest single-season turnaround in the program's history in 2025, closing the year ranked ninth in the final ITA Mountain Region rankings. In the second season of head coach Taylor Hollander's tenure, Air Force improved from a last-place finish in 2023-24 to going 12-14 and 4-6 against Mountain West opponents. The Falcons ended their season as the seven-seed in the 2025 Mountain West Championship, shutting out New Mexico in the opening round and scoring a 4-1 win over No. 69, two-seeded Nevada – A win representing Air Force's highest-seeded postseason victory since 2017.
All-Mountain West doubles selection Arianna Van Houweling/Nadia Kojonroj finished ranked ninth in the final ITA Mountain Region doubles rankings. The duo closed at 9-5 on the dual season, capping the year with a pair of set wins against Nevada (6-1) and a doubles-clinching, tiebreak win in the MW semifinals against UNLV's Nikol Mircheva/Hanna Vinahradava. Van Houweling/Kojonroj's efforts in doubles led a 10-match doubles-clinching streak for the Falcons as a team to close out the season.
A Rising Standard:
In the wake of Air Force's rapid ascent in 2025, head coach Taylor Hollander amassed one of the programs' best-ever collection of recruits. The Air Force Women's Tennis Class of 2029 ranked 10th overall on Tennis Recruiting Network's 2025 Top Mid-Major Women's Classes – The Falcons' highest-ever ranking on the platform. The No. 10 spot placet the Falcons in front of both fellow service academies, falling one spot ahead of Navy (11th) and 14 ahead of Army (24th). Air Force was the lone Mountain West program to crack the list in 2025.
In fall competition, Air Force freshmen (Jariahlyn Rhoades, Yule Kang, Alba Martinez) combined to finish 16-10 and 16-13 in open singles and doubles, respectively.
In the Rankings:
Senior captain Van Houweling opens 2026 ranked No. 120 nationally as a singles competitor. In fall competition, Van Houweling finished with a 9-3 record, including five straight-set wins. The senior closed 2025 at 16-13 and seven wins in her last 10 matches.
The Cotuna Comeback:
Senior Abby Cotuna, who competed for Air Force as a freshman in 2023, returned to the Falcon roster for one final season ahead of 2024-25. In her inaugural season, Cotuna was a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week, combining for a 21-6 doubles record and a 16-8 mark in singles. The now-senior amassed a 4-1 record in the 2023 Mountain West Championship, including a 3-0 run in singles competition, spearheading Air Force's run to its first-ever runner-up finish in postseason play.
On the heels of a 14-day tryout taking place just days ahead of Air Force's 2024-25 debut, Cotuna made a rapid return to the Falcon lineup in time to represent the Academy at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains. Cotuna, competing in the Charlie singles bracket, finished 4-0 with a title in hand.
A Worthy Challenge of Aspiring Falcons:
Five matches against opponents who comprised the 64-team field of the 2025 NCAA DI Women's Tennis Championship headline a stacked spring schedule for the Falcons. Included in the gauntlet are one national runner-up (Texas A&M), three conference champions (Boise State, Denver, Grand Canyon) and six opponents who were named to the final ITA national rankings in 2025 (Texas A&M, Oklahoma, San Diego State, SMU, Boise State, Nevada).
A Look at the Mustangs:
SMU, in its inaugural season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), went 12-14 and finished ranked 50th nationally under then-head coach and former Air Force Men's Tennis assistant Jeff Nevolo in 2025. The Mustangs, now under the guidance of former Wisconsin head Kelcy McKenna, aim for higher ground in 2025 as one of the nation's newest-minted Power Four programs.
A Glance at the Aggies:
The Falcons face four-time reigning SEC regular-season champion Texas A&M on Sunday for the first time in program history. TAMU, tabbed to finish fourth in the SEC this season, has split with Georgia in the last two national championship matches, picking up a national title in 2024 and finishing as national runners up in 2025. TAMU sports a 71-match winning streak at home and closed last season with an unblemished 16-0 record at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Friday, Jan. 16 | 9 a.m. MT
Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex | Dallas, Texas
Watch | Live Scoring
Match 2: Air Force at No. 2 Texas A&M
Sunday, Jan. 18 | 12 p.m. MT
Mitchell Tennis Center | College Station, Texas
Live Scoring
Air Force Women's Tennis is in full swing this weekend, as the Falcons open the 2026 dual season with a pair of Power Four contests at SMU and No. 2 Texas A&M on Jan. 16 and 18, respectively.
Picking Up Where We Left Things:
The Falcons underwent their largest single-season turnaround in the program's history in 2025, closing the year ranked ninth in the final ITA Mountain Region rankings. In the second season of head coach Taylor Hollander's tenure, Air Force improved from a last-place finish in 2023-24 to going 12-14 and 4-6 against Mountain West opponents. The Falcons ended their season as the seven-seed in the 2025 Mountain West Championship, shutting out New Mexico in the opening round and scoring a 4-1 win over No. 69, two-seeded Nevada – A win representing Air Force's highest-seeded postseason victory since 2017.
All-Mountain West doubles selection Arianna Van Houweling/Nadia Kojonroj finished ranked ninth in the final ITA Mountain Region doubles rankings. The duo closed at 9-5 on the dual season, capping the year with a pair of set wins against Nevada (6-1) and a doubles-clinching, tiebreak win in the MW semifinals against UNLV's Nikol Mircheva/Hanna Vinahradava. Van Houweling/Kojonroj's efforts in doubles led a 10-match doubles-clinching streak for the Falcons as a team to close out the season.
A Rising Standard:
In the wake of Air Force's rapid ascent in 2025, head coach Taylor Hollander amassed one of the programs' best-ever collection of recruits. The Air Force Women's Tennis Class of 2029 ranked 10th overall on Tennis Recruiting Network's 2025 Top Mid-Major Women's Classes – The Falcons' highest-ever ranking on the platform. The No. 10 spot placet the Falcons in front of both fellow service academies, falling one spot ahead of Navy (11th) and 14 ahead of Army (24th). Air Force was the lone Mountain West program to crack the list in 2025.
In fall competition, Air Force freshmen (Jariahlyn Rhoades, Yule Kang, Alba Martinez) combined to finish 16-10 and 16-13 in open singles and doubles, respectively.
In the Rankings:
Senior captain Van Houweling opens 2026 ranked No. 120 nationally as a singles competitor. In fall competition, Van Houweling finished with a 9-3 record, including five straight-set wins. The senior closed 2025 at 16-13 and seven wins in her last 10 matches.
The Cotuna Comeback:
Senior Abby Cotuna, who competed for Air Force as a freshman in 2023, returned to the Falcon roster for one final season ahead of 2024-25. In her inaugural season, Cotuna was a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week, combining for a 21-6 doubles record and a 16-8 mark in singles. The now-senior amassed a 4-1 record in the 2023 Mountain West Championship, including a 3-0 run in singles competition, spearheading Air Force's run to its first-ever runner-up finish in postseason play.
On the heels of a 14-day tryout taking place just days ahead of Air Force's 2024-25 debut, Cotuna made a rapid return to the Falcon lineup in time to represent the Academy at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains. Cotuna, competing in the Charlie singles bracket, finished 4-0 with a title in hand.
A Worthy Challenge of Aspiring Falcons:
Five matches against opponents who comprised the 64-team field of the 2025 NCAA DI Women's Tennis Championship headline a stacked spring schedule for the Falcons. Included in the gauntlet are one national runner-up (Texas A&M), three conference champions (Boise State, Denver, Grand Canyon) and six opponents who were named to the final ITA national rankings in 2025 (Texas A&M, Oklahoma, San Diego State, SMU, Boise State, Nevada).
A Look at the Mustangs:
SMU, in its inaugural season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), went 12-14 and finished ranked 50th nationally under then-head coach and former Air Force Men's Tennis assistant Jeff Nevolo in 2025. The Mustangs, now under the guidance of former Wisconsin head Kelcy McKenna, aim for higher ground in 2025 as one of the nation's newest-minted Power Four programs.
A Glance at the Aggies:
The Falcons face four-time reigning SEC regular-season champion Texas A&M on Sunday for the first time in program history. TAMU, tabbed to finish fourth in the SEC this season, has split with Georgia in the last two national championship matches, picking up a national title in 2024 and finishing as national runners up in 2025. TAMU sports a 71-match winning streak at home and closed last season with an unblemished 16-0 record at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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