Bolivar, Mo. – The SBU men's and women's tennis teams are set to begin their 2026 Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma. The women's team will take on University of Central Oklahoma on Friday and the #18 team in DII, University of Texas at Tyler Saturday. Men's tennis will only play one game against University of Texas at Tyler, #7 in DII, on Saturday.
 
Both teams are led by head coach Brady Matthews in his first season at Southwest Baptist. Matthews was hired back in the summer after leading MIAA Newman University. In that season, he coached the MIAA/GAA freshman of the year along with multiple All-Conference honors. He looks to lead the Bearcat tennis programs back to the GLVC tournament and success in his first season.
 
The men's team has a mix of returners and new players that will make a difference on the court. Returning includes Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez, who spent a lot of time at the #2 spot last season. Another top returner includes Bojan Radoman who spent time at both the #2 and #3 spot. Along with the returners are five new freshmen, that will look to earn their spot in the top-6 within the team.
 
On the women's side, it is a smaller roster that includes three returners and three newcomers. Those returning include Maria Clara Zotti, Defne Ursan, and Ally Bowser. Ursan saw a significant time at the #2 spot while Clara Zotti had a strong record at the #6 spot early in the season. Newcomers to the team include freshmen Isabella Canedo, Sammi Liu, and Olivia McGruder.
 
The women's first game is Friday at 1:00 p.m. while the men begin on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Live stat links for the game can be found under the schedule tab on sbubearcats.com.