IRVING, Texas (AAC/SMU) – Liam Krall was named American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year as announced by the league office on Thursday.
 
Krall led the Mustangs with 16 wins in his first season on the Hilltop. Playing exclusively at the top three lines, Krall went 16-9 including three wins over AAC opponents.
 
The Bronxville, N.Y. native was crucial down the stretch for the Mustangs with wins in five of his last six matches. He provided singles victories in each of the Mustangs four wins over ranked opponents.
 
Krall caught fire midseason in singles with a eight match winning streak including wins over Oklahoma, Butler and Utah. In the Mustangs AAC quarterfinal win over No. 19 Tulane, Krall tallied a three-set win over Luis Erlenbusch to move the Mustangs closer to their first top-20 win in the last four seasons.
 
In doubles, Krall went 9-6 with a ranked win. He teamed up with fellow freshman Julian Steinhausen for a 5-3 record while playing primarily line two. He also went 3-3 with Caleb Chakravarthi including a win over No. 38 Ferguson/Luquet of USF. Krall played a key part in a strong season in doubles for the Mustangs in which they won at least one doubles court in each of the last 30 matches.
 
Krall is the first Mustang to win one of the two major AAC end of season awards and the first Mustang selected as the top freshman in the conference since Alex Skyrpko in 2004.
 
As a team, the Mustangs recorded the most wins since 2016 and climbed to their best end of regular season ranking in five seasons. The Mustangs are currently ranked No. 46 in the country and moved to as high as No. 40 this season. SMU men's tennis won four matches against ranked teams with victories over Oklahoma, San Diego, Tulsa and Tulane.