BOX SCORE   SEASON STATS

HOUSTON (SMU) – SMU men's tennis outlasted Rice, 4-3, in the Turpin Cup on Saturday clinching the victory in a third-set tiebreaker on the last remaining court.
 
With the match all square at 3-3 between the Owls and Mustangs, freshman Liam Krall stepped up for SMU in the critical tiebreaker. At 5-5 in the breaker, Krall took the next two points to clinch the victory and earn the Mustangs a Turpin Cup win for the second-straight season.
 
"Amazing day for college tennis," said head coach Grant Chen. "'Rice vs. SMU' featured amazing tennis by the men's and women's teams while honoring a long time tennis friend, the late Jack Turpin. We really had our backs against the wall and it was ultra-competitive as always when these two programs compete. Congrats to Coach Nevolo and the women's tennis team for the great victory and then racing over to cheer on Liam in the third-set tiebreaker. Credit a true freshman for holding his composure and also to Clark (Wilson) and Julian (Steinhausen) for getting first two singles points on the board. The weekend continues as we face a very good Tulsa team tomorrow. Another great day to be a 'Stang."
 
The Turpin Cup was started in 2020 to honor the late Jack Turpin, a Rice Tennis alum and father of a pair of SMU Tennis All-Americans, Jeff and Mark Turpin. Jack Turpin's legacy, integral to both programs, is remember and honored every season as the Owls and Mustangs compete on the courts to win the cup that bears his name.  
 
The Mustangs took an early edge with a victory in doubles. Julian Steinhausen and Jan-Simon Vrbsky made quick work of the Owls on line two, 6-1. Rice answered with a 7-5 win over Caleb Chakravarthi and Tomas Vaise on line one. Huntley Allen and Clarke Wilson sealed the point after a 7-5 win on the third court.
 
In singles, Rice took the edge in the match with four first set wins. A pair of Mustang first-year standouts provided the two early leads. Steinhausen pulledmoutn a 6-3, victory in set one and before winning set two, 6-2. Wilson, a grad transfer, gave SMU point No. 3 of the match with his 6-0, 6-4 win.
 
Rice drew closer to SMU with straight-set wins over Vaise on line one, and Vrbsky on line five.
 
Chakravarthi rallied after losing set one, with a 6-2 win in the second. With the final two courts both nearing the end, the captain was all square with Aziz of Rice, 4-4, in the third. Rice would win the next two points to even the score.
 
Before Krall's tiebreaker heroics, the freshman overcame a 6-3 first set loss with a dominant 7-5 set two win. After trading breaks early in the final set, Krall broke Rice at 4-4 to earn a chance to serve for the match. Rice fended off two dual match points to force the breaker where Krall provided the Mustangs with the dramatic win.
 
SMU moves to 14-13 on the season with four matches remaining before the conference championships. Rice moves to 8-10 on the season and 7-5 at home.
 
The Mustangs return to the SMU Tennis Complex on Sunday for an American Conference showdown with No. 33 Tulsa. The match is slated for 2 p.m.