No. 39 SMU (8-4) vs No. 60 UTSA (7-4)
San Antonio, Texas
March 13, 2022

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SMU Season Stats | UTSA Season Stats

SAN ANTONIO (SMU) – SMU men's tennis hits the road to take on UTSA in San Antonio Sunday, March 13^th at 10:00 a.m. The match will be played at the UTSA Tennis Center. The Mustangs lost to Oklahoma State last night, but have won five out of their last six. Match updates will be posted on the SMU Men's Tennis Twitter account.

Scouting UTSA
The UTSA Roadrunners currently stand as the 60^th ranked team in the nation. Their 7-4 record includes wins against New Mexico State, Troy, UT Arlington, and Abilene Christian. They have lost to No. 3 Texas and No. 36 Texas Tech, but are 3-0 at home this season. Their No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams are 5-1 in dual play, currently holding five and four match win streaks, respectively. UTSA is very strong at lines 1, 3, and 4, having won over 70% of dual matches at each of these positions.

SMU is 6-2 all-time versus the Roadrunners. This will be the first time that the Mustangs face them on the road.

Hot Mustangs
Julian Steinhausen and Huntley Allen have won three straight doubles matches and are 4-1 in dual play this season.

Liam Krall, primarily playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, is 9-2 in singles dual matches and 6-3 in doubles, 3-1 playing with Steinhausen.
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Making National Noise
The Mustangs pulled off a dramatic 4-3 road win over No. 18 Texas A&M on February 27^th. This was SMU's highest ranked win since defeating No. 8 Texas Tech in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament and third ranked win since head coach Grant Chen took over the program in 2018. Former Aggie, Pranav Kumar clinched the win for SMU.
 
The Mustangs also defeated No. 35 San Diego 4-3 on the road on March 5^th. San Diego native Ivan Thamma, a graduate transfer from UC Davis, clinched the match for the SMU. He erased a 6-7, 1-4 deficit, winning the final two sets 6-4, 6-4. Thamma and doubles partner Adam Neff also knocked off San Diego's No. 43 ranked doubles team of Holmgren and Osorio 6-3, handing them their first loss of the year.
 
Ranking the 'Stangs
Over the last two weeks, the Mustangs have jumped 19 spots in the ITA national rankings. They currently stand at No. 39. The highest the Mustangs climbed last year was No. 44.
 
Mustangs On Tour
Four SMU men's tennis players debuted on the ATP Tour at the Dallas Open in February. Caleb Chakravarthi, Liam Krall, and Adam Neff were all awarded matches in singles, while Adam Neff and Ivan Thamma were given a spot in doubles. The field included three top-30 ranked players in the world including John Isner, Taylor Fritz, and Reilly Opelka. Neff and Thamma came closest to winning their match, as they split sets with Sam Querrey and Jackson Withrow before losing 10-5 on a tiebreak.
 
AAC Honors
Graduate senior Pranav Kumar was named AAC Men's Tennis player of the week on March 1^st, after clinching the Mustangs' 4-3 win over his former team, the No. 18 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. This was Kumar's second consecutive match clinching win, having lifted SMU to victory over Nebraska 4-3 on February 20^th.
 
Fall Titles
SMU won a number of tournaments this fall. Former AAC Freshman of the Year Liam Krall took the singles title at the Lakes Collegiate Invitational. Senior captain Caleb Chakravarthi won the singles title, as well as the doubles title with Julian Steinhausen at the Islander Invite. Jordi Redelijk won the singles title at the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge, while Kyle Sillman and John Zisette took the doubles trophy.