BOX SCORE SEASON STATS
HOUSTON (SMU) - SMU men's tennis defeated Rice, 4-3, in the inaugural playing of the Turpin Cup on Sunday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
"Sports are very special. When you come together with your competitors and put it all on the line, it's for the love of the game," commented head coach Grant Chen after the win. "Today we played for Jack Turpin. He had a direct impact on a group of student athletes at two different institutions without meeting them. We handled the windy conditions today well. The match came down to the wire and we knew it would. Ethan showed tremendous composure for a freshman to get wins in both singles and doubles. Thank you to Jeff and Scott for flying to Houston to be at today's dual match. We look forward to many more battles with Rice each season."
SMU opened play in the Turpin Cup with a strong doubles performance. Caleb Chakravarthi and Tomas Vaise won their match with a 6-2 decision. Ethan Leon and Carles Sarrio continued their hot streak as they cruised to a 6-3 win on line one. Juan Jose Bianchi and Jan-Simon Vrbsky were 4-4 at the time of clinch.
The Mustangs split the first six set in singles with the Owls. Huntley Allen put SMU in front with his speedy, 6-1, 6-2 win on line four. Carles Sarrio moved the Mustangs to one point away from their 11th victory of the season. Sarrio took care of business, 6-2, 6-3.
The Owls dialed up the drama by winning the next three points. Conrad Russel knocked off Vrbsky, 6-4, 7-5 on No. 6. Sumit Sarkar benefited from a 7-5 tiebreaker score in the first set before defeating Chakravarthi, 7-6, 6-1. Jordi Redelijk couldn't get past Conrad Russell, 6-4, 7-5.
With the match coming down to Ethan Leon on line three, the freshman won his first set 7-5 but was in a 0-3 hole in set two. Leon rallied to win the next four games before a rain delay. Leon came back strong after the break, clinching the match with a 6-4 victory in the second.
SMU and Valparaiso were scheduled to compete in the back half of a doubleheader but the Houston weather turned sour and the match was abandoned.
"We unfortunately couldn't finish the Valpo match as Mother Nature wasn't cooperating," added Chen. "We will try and reschedule at a later date if the opportunity works for both programs."
Next up, the Mustangs head to the LA area to face Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine and Liberty.
