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Men's tennis wins second straight AAC title

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Men's tennis wins second straight AAC title

Postby PonyPride » Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:42 am

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Men’s Tennis Wins Second Straight American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship

ORLANDO (SMU)- For the second straight year, SMU men's tennis stands alone as the best atop the American Athletic Conference men's tennis landscape.

The Mustangs fought tooth and nail against the No. 2 seed Tulane as they earned a 4-3 decision on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus to collect their second straight AAC title.

The No. 4 seed SMU became the lowest seeded team to win the championship.

"This one is truly special. To go back-to-back and win consecutive 4-3 matches. I'm speechless. So proud of the boys and this entire program for competing in the manner they have been," said head coach Grant Chen. "The whole collective effort. Couldn't have done it without this staff who supported this team each and every day. Eight different guys competed this past week, but it took a village to win this. Credit to Tulane on a spectacular week and for a high-level tennis match."

SMU also earned an automatic big to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.

The 4-3 win was the Mustangs second in a row on their way to the championship. SMU commenced its stay in the tournament with a 4-2 victory over the No. 5 seed Tulsa on Friday. The Mustangs then outlasted the No. 1 seed Memphis 4-3 on Saturday to secure their spot in the grand finale.

The championship match was arguably the most intense of them all.

SMU rallied from a 3-2 hole with back-to-back wins by Pranav Kumar and Louis Cloud to clinch. Cloud earned the biggest win of his career as he came back from one set down. In the deciding third set, Cloud won the last three games, including the last nine points of the match, to break a 3-3 tie and give SMU the 4-3 win.

The Mustangs got the 1-0 advantage in their second doubles point throughout the tournament. The highest ranked doubles duo in the conference of Adam Neff and Pranav Kumar got the first win of the day on Court 1 over Luka Petrovic and Sam Scherer. Neff and Kumar never trailed en route to their 10th win of the spring together. The SMU duo had a pair of big breaks to get out to a 5-3 lead as Neff held serve giving them the 6-3 win.

Liam Krall and Callaway Clark then closed the show with their most significant doubles victory of the spring on Court 2. It appeared Fynn Kuenkler and Luc Hoeijmans of Tulane were on their way to a quick victory over the SMU duo as they led 5-2 with a chance to close out the match. Clark and Krall had a sequence of holds and breaks over the next four games giving themselves a chance to serve out the match at 6-5. Serving on the ad side, Clark bombed an ace out wide resulting in the seven-game comeback and the 1-0 lead for the Mustangs.

Julian Steinhausen and Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo were tied at 5-5 against Rafael de Alba and Benji Jacobson on Court 3 as play was halted.

Neff and Krall were the only two Mustangs to win their opening set as Tulane took four of the six first completed sets.

Tulane evened the score at 1-1 as Rafael de Alba gave Julian Steinhausen his first loss of the weekend with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat on Court 5.

Adam Neff, ranked No. 68 in the ITA, was quick to respond giving SMU its lead back at 2-1. Neff scored a pair of 6-4 wins over Luka Petrovic earning a team high of 16 wins this spring.

SMU then found itself trailing for the first time of the day with losses on courts 2 and 3.

Luc Hoeijmans of Tulane took Court 3 over Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo in a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win. Fynn Kuenkler followed that with a three-set victory over Liam Krall on Court 2. Krall took the opening set 6-1 but fell in the second 6-3 followed by the third, 6-1, resulting in the 3-2 lead for Tulane.

Pranav Kumar earned arguably the most important match of the day on Court 4. Kumar fell to Alex Bancila 6-3 in the opening set but had a 6-3 response in the second, forcing a deciding third set. Kumar rallied to a 6-4 victory in the third, and undeniably had the best celebration of the day, as he tied the match at 3-3.

Kumar was chosen as the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after he was a combined 5-1 in singles and doubles, including singles victories in all three wins.

Now tied at 3-3, all eyes turned to Court 6 for the title.

Louis Cloud and Sam Scherer split sets as Cloud dropped the opening set 6-4 but responded in the second to take it at 6-2. Each player held serve for the first seven games of the third set until Cloud got a huge break point with four consecutive points to get the 5-3 lead. Cloud faced triple match point and after a 31-ball rally, Cloud clinched the title for the Mustangs.

"We will enjoy this and look forward at an opportunity to compete in the NCAA," Chen said.

#51 SMU 4, #43 Tulane 3
Apr 23, 2023 at
Singles Competition
1. #65 Adam Neff (SMU) def. Luka Petrovic (TULANE) 6-4, 6-4
2. Fynn Kuenkler (TULANE) def. Liam Krall (SMU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. Luc Hoeijmans (TULANE) def. Antonio Muniz Hidalg (SMU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Alex Bancila (TULANE) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Rafael de Alba (TULANE) def. Julian Steinhausen (SMU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Louis Cloud (SMU) def. Sam Scherer (TULANE) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Doubles Competition
1. #68 Adam Neff/Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Luka Petrovic/Sam Scherer (TULANE) 6-3
2. Callaway Clark/Liam Krall (SMU) def. Fynn Kuenkler/Luc Hoeijmans (TULANE) 7-5
3. Rafael de Alba/Benji Jacobson (TULANE) vs. Antonio Muniz Hidalg/Julian Steinhausen (SMU) 5-5, unfinished

Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,1,2,4,6)
American Athletic Confernece Championship Finals
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