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3 men's tennis players All-AAC; Chen Coach of the Year

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3 men's tennis players All-AAC; Chen Coach of the Year

Postby PonyPride » Thu May 05, 2022 8:29 pm

From SMUMustangs.com:

Chen Named Coach Of The Year, Three Mustangs Combine For Four All-Conference Honors

IRVING, Texas (SMU/American Athletic Conference) – SMU men's tennis Head Coach Grant Chen was awarded American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to their first AAC title and 24th NCAA Tournament appearance. Pranav Kumar, Liam Krall, and Adam Neff were awarded four combined All-Conference honors by the AAC for their outstanding play throughout the season. Since the conference formed in 2013, SMU has now received 12 all-conference honors.

Chen becomes the Mustangs' third conference coach of the year (Dennis Ralston 2x, Carl Neufeld 3x), first in the AAC, and first since Carl Neufeld took the honor in 2002. Chen has led SMU to its current 22-6 record. They have won 10 of their 13 ranked matches this season, the most ranked wins for SMU since 2000-01. They have climbed as high as No. 20 in the ITA National Rankings, their highest mark since 2002. The Mustangs are on an eleven-match winning streak entering their NCAA first round matchup with LSU tomorrow.

One of SMU's most consistent players this season, Kumar was named to both the singles and doubles All-Conference teams. He is just one of four players to be given both recognitions by the AAC this year. The graduate transfer holds a 15-6 overall singles record. He has dominated the fourth line for the Mustangs, holding an 11-4 record at the position. Kumar is also 12-9 overall in doubles. He is 7-2 playing with Neff, the pairing currently ranked No. 39 in the country. Early in the season, Kumar secured a clutch clinching point for SMU against his former team, the No. 18 ranked Texas A&M Aggies.

An All-Conference selection in singles, Krall has been SMU's best individual player, accumulating a 25-7 overall and 17-3 dual record. The former AAC Freshman of the Year has won his last seven contests including the title-clinching match at the AAC Championships. Krall was named the AAC Championships' Most Outstanding Player, having won all three of his matches and clinching two of SMU's victories (semifinal over USF, final over Memphis).

Neff received All-Conference Doubles honors after playing the top spot for the Mustangs throughout the year. Neff began the season playing with Ivan Thamma. The current No. 77 pairing went 16-9 overall and 8-6 in dual action. Neff and Thamma played an extremely close match against two top 100 doubles players in the world in Sam Querrey and Jackson Withrow. SMU's duo split sets in the first-round main draw of the ATP Tour's Dallas Open before falling in a tiebreak. Neff and Kumar began playing together in early April. Since then, they have gone 7-2 and picked up two key wins over Memphis' current No. 31 ranked pairing. They are currently ranked No. 39 by the ITA.

2022 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS POSTSEASON HONORS
Player of the Year
Kody Pearson, Sr., Tulsa

Freshman of the Year
Pablo Alemany Malea, Memphis

Coach of the Year
Grant Chen, SMU

All-Conference Team
Singles
Trey Hilderbrand, Jr., UCF
David Stevenson, Jr., Memphis
Ivan Yatsuk, Jr., South Florida
Liam Krall, So., SMU
Pranav Kumar, Gr., SMU

Kody Pearson, Sr., Tulsa

Doubles
Lleyton Cronje, Jr., UCF
Trey Hilderbrand, Jr., UCF
Bogdan Pavel, Jr., UCF
David Stevenson, Jr., Memphis
Jeremy Taylor, Jr., Memphis
Rithvik Bollipalli, Jr., South Florida
Bruno Oliveira, So., South Florida
Pranav Kumar, Gr., SMU
Adam Neff, So., SMU

Connor Di Marco, Jr., Tulsa
Kody Pearson, Sr., Tulsa
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