University of North Texas Athletics
Thursday, October 22
Houston, TX
University of North Texas
vs
American Conference Individual Championship
10/24/2026 12:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON — The UNT doubles pair of Lou Chalard and Lilly Schultz made a run to the semifinals of the American Conference Individual Championships after earning a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed in the event.
The Mean Green team won its quarterfinal match, 8-7, over Tulane's Diana Badalyan and Delanie Tribby on Friday after falling behind 7-4 before reeling off the final four games to complete the comeback. On Saturday in the semifinals, Chalard and Schultz faced Charlotte's Amalia Widdowson and Shona Nakano, who won the match 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6).
In singles action, Chalard won her first two matches on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the Round of 32 and a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the Round of 16 before falling in the quarterfinals on Friday 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Carolina Laydner won her opening match on Thursday with a 6-0, 7-6 victory before falling in the Round of 32, 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.
"We came up a little short of our goals this weekend, but I'm really proud of the steps we took to get where we are ultimately trying to go," head coach Amanda Stone said. "We showed that we can fight back when down and execute when it's hard. We've been working hard to dictate more often, and I think we showed great improvement there among the best players in the conference. It's really important now for our players to double down and keep pushing. There's a lot of great things ahead of this team."
In other action over the weekend, the rest of the team competed at the TCU Invite in Fort Worth and had a strong showing against several top programs.
On Thursday, the duo of Stadfany Nformi and Zimora McKnight won 7-5 over a Nebraska team, and McKnight and Maya Chen each scored singles wins over players from Nebraska.
On Friday, McKnight and Chen won a doubles match over Nebraska, 6-1, while Ujin Batsukh and Giuliana Ciangherotti won 6-1 over a doubles pair from UTA. McKnight and Chen won singles matches on Friday over players from Utah, with McKnight scoring a 6-2, 6-4 win and Chen winning 6-2, 7-6 (6-2).
On Saturday, Chen scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over a player from Notre Dame, while Chen and McKnight won a doubles match over a team from Houston. Batsukh and Ciangherotti also won a doubles match over a team from Illinois. To close out the event on Sunday, McKnight and Chen won a doubles match over Illinois, 6-1, and the Mean Green got straight-set singles wins from McKnight, Chen, Batsukh and Ciangherotti.
"This weekend, we continued to demonstrate that we can compete at a high level in college tennis," said assistant coach Rodrigo de Almeida, who was with the team in Fort Worth. "With wins over players from Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Houston, Utah, Northwestern, and Notre Dame, we leave the weekend encouraged by our progress and confident that the work we are putting in on the practice courts is helping us continue to close the gap and improve. Our doubles teams performed exceptionally well, finishing the weekend with a 6-1 record. Our freshmen, Maya and Zimora, also competed at a high level, each finishing 3-1 in singles. Overall, this was a tremendous four-day event for the Mean Green, and we are proud of the way our players competed, battled, and continued to grow throughout the weekend."
The Mean Green will wrap up the fall season at the Tulsa Invite on November 6-8.
The Mean Green team won its quarterfinal match, 8-7, over Tulane's Diana Badalyan and Delanie Tribby on Friday after falling behind 7-4 before reeling off the final four games to complete the comeback. On Saturday in the semifinals, Chalard and Schultz faced Charlotte's Amalia Widdowson and Shona Nakano, who won the match 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6).
In singles action, Chalard won her first two matches on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the Round of 32 and a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the Round of 16 before falling in the quarterfinals on Friday 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Carolina Laydner won her opening match on Thursday with a 6-0, 7-6 victory before falling in the Round of 32, 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.
"We came up a little short of our goals this weekend, but I'm really proud of the steps we took to get where we are ultimately trying to go," head coach Amanda Stone said. "We showed that we can fight back when down and execute when it's hard. We've been working hard to dictate more often, and I think we showed great improvement there among the best players in the conference. It's really important now for our players to double down and keep pushing. There's a lot of great things ahead of this team."
In other action over the weekend, the rest of the team competed at the TCU Invite in Fort Worth and had a strong showing against several top programs.
On Thursday, the duo of Stadfany Nformi and Zimora McKnight won 7-5 over a Nebraska team, and McKnight and Maya Chen each scored singles wins over players from Nebraska.
On Friday, McKnight and Chen won a doubles match over Nebraska, 6-1, while Ujin Batsukh and Giuliana Ciangherotti won 6-1 over a doubles pair from UTA. McKnight and Chen won singles matches on Friday over players from Utah, with McKnight scoring a 6-2, 6-4 win and Chen winning 6-2, 7-6 (6-2).
On Saturday, Chen scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over a player from Notre Dame, while Chen and McKnight won a doubles match over a team from Houston. Batsukh and Ciangherotti also won a doubles match over a team from Illinois. To close out the event on Sunday, McKnight and Chen won a doubles match over Illinois, 6-1, and the Mean Green got straight-set singles wins from McKnight, Chen, Batsukh and Ciangherotti.
"This weekend, we continued to demonstrate that we can compete at a high level in college tennis," said assistant coach Rodrigo de Almeida, who was with the team in Fort Worth. "With wins over players from Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Houston, Utah, Northwestern, and Notre Dame, we leave the weekend encouraged by our progress and confident that the work we are putting in on the practice courts is helping us continue to close the gap and improve. Our doubles teams performed exceptionally well, finishing the weekend with a 6-1 record. Our freshmen, Maya and Zimora, also competed at a high level, each finishing 3-1 in singles. Overall, this was a tremendous four-day event for the Mean Green, and we are proud of the way our players competed, battled, and continued to grow throughout the weekend."
The Mean Green will wrap up the fall season at the Tulsa Invite on November 6-8.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Tuesday, October 20
Tuesday, October 13
Sunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11