LONGVIEW, Texas -- A new season and a new conference is set for the LeTourneau women's tennis team in spring 2026.

Under 14th-year head coach Suzanne Merritt, the YellowJackets get the spring started on Saturday vs. Howard Payne at Allen High School (10 a.m.).

LeTourneau advanced to the ASC Tournament semifinals for a second straight year in 2025 and totaled eight wins. Now, the YellowJackets enter into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference -- marking the first conference change in program history.

THE ROSTER

It will be a complete team effort as Merritt's squad features seven players for the 2026 season.

Kylie Weeks is the lone senior on the team and will join the roster once basketball season concludes. Weeks went 10-5 in singles last season, including eight wins at the No. 5 spot, while totaling seven doubles victories. She went 4-2 in tournaments in the fall season.

Maddie Nichol, Emmy Phillips, Chloe Tesser, and Lindley Vickers are the returning sophomores. Nichol had a strong freshman season as she captured 10 singles wins -- five of which came at the No. 4 flight -- and 10 on the doubles side. Tesser had nine wins in singles play and eight in doubles. Phillips added five singles wins and six in doubles.

Tesser led LeTourneau with five singles wins in fall tournament action. 

Freshmen Mackenzie Borhofen and Anaiah Smith make up the newcomers. Borhofen was 4-1 in singles in tournament play in the fall, while Smith won three singles matches.

SCAC OUTLOOK

LeTourneau enters a new conference for the first time in program history. 

Entering the SCAC, LeTourneau will not have to contend with national power Trinity -- winners of four straight SCAC titles -- as the Tigers moved to the SAA. Colorado College, Concordia Texas, and St. Thomas look to be some of the top competition in the league this season in the wide open SCAC.

THE SCHEDULE

The season opener is set for Feb. 21 against former conference foe Howard Payne. The neutral site match will take place in Allen, Texas at Allen ISD.

The following weekend, SCAC play officially opens. The YellowJackets go on the road to face Austin College (Feb. 27) and Dallas (Feb. 28) to begin league play.

LeTourneau then heads to the PTR Spring Break Fest in Hilton Head, S.C., during the week of March 5-12. The YellowJackets make the trek East for a third straight year. The women are slated to play Division III foes Gordon (March 7), Carroll (March 8), Lake Forest (March 9), and Greenville (Mach 10).

Upon returning, the YellowJackets get back into SCAC play on March 19-20 at Ozarks (March 19) and at Hendrix (March 20).

After over a month of playing non-home matches, LeTourneau hosts its first match of the season on March 27 vs. Texas Lutheran. That match is one of three straight at home for the YellowJackets as Concordia Texas (March 28) and former conference rival East Texas Baptist (March 31) make their way to Longview.

The last two weekends of conference play include a trip to Colorado Springs to face St. Thomas (April 10) and Colorado College (April 12) before finishing at home against Schreiner (April 17) and McMurry (April 18).

The SCAC Men's and Women's Tennis Tournament is set for April 24-26 in Kerrville, Texas.

FOLLOW THE YELLOWJACKETS

Be sure to follow LeTourneau athletics all season long on letuathletics.com and social media at Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news, and other information.