ORLANDO (SMU) – After over three and a half hours, Ivan Thamma clinched a 4-3 win for No. 38 SMU over No. 57 UCF. The grad-senior battled off a set deficit and numerous match points to secure his second clinching victory of the season. SMU improves to 12-6 and 5-0 on the road. This was UCF's first conference loss since April 21^st of 2019.
 
The Mustangs got off to a strong start in doubles, breaking UCF's first serve on each court. The Knight's 35^th ranked doubles pair on court one bounced back quickly, breaking 76^th ranked Neff/Thamma right back and closing out the match 6-2. Krall/Kumar stayed hot on court two, breaking again and extending their lead to 4-0. They won their match comfortably, 6-2.
 
Tied 1-1 in doubles, the point came down to a back and forth match on court three. Allen/Steinhausen got off to an early 2-0 lead, before dropping the next three games. Down 2-3, the SMU duo caught fire and won the next four matches, defeating their opponents 6-3 and taking the point for the Mustangs.
 
Julian Steinhausen stayed hot for SMU on court six. The sophomore went to a tiebreak in his first set which he won 7-4. He then cruised through the second set, winning 6-2.
 
UCF's No. 76 ranked Trey Hilderbrand battled past Pranav Kumar on court four, winning 6-4, 7-5. Kumar fought off a number of match points in the second set to battle back, but could not overtake Hilderbrand for the set. The Knights completed the comeback, winning in three sets on court three to tie the score at 2-2.
 
Liam Krall brought the Mustangs ahead once again, winning in a three-set battle on court two. After winning the first set 6-2, he lost in a back and forth tiebreak 10-8. Both players fought off set points in the tiebreak. Krall finished the job in the third set with a clutch break, winning 7-5 and bringing SMU within one point of the victory.
 
Once again, the Knights fought back. Adam Neff fell on court one after a grueling three-set match. Neff went up 4-0 in the first set, but eventually lost in a tiebreak 3-7. He came out on top in the second set tiebreak 7-2. The final set was extremely tight, but UCF got an important break down the stretch and won 7-5.
 
For the second time this season, the clinch came down to Thamma. The grad-senior on court five lost the first set 5-7 and trailed 4-5 down a break in the second. He battled off two match points in the crucial game which he went on to win 7-5 in a tiebreak. Thamma played outstanding in the final set, winning the first three games and breaking his opponent four times on his way to winning 6-1.
 
Mustang Quotes
Liam Krall – "It was an unbelievable match from the guys. To be down match points with me and Ivan is a real testament to how hard we've been working this season, and it's really awesome to see that the fitness is paying off. I'm just really happy to be a part of this squad. Go 'Stangs."

Head Coach Grant Chen – "Real battle with Central Florida. This team is very good, and they've won the conference title and conference tournament a couple years in a row for a reason. Really looking forward and proud of the guys for what they've done. We've got another huge weekend next weekend as we face three conference opponents. I'm proud of the guys for being resilient and coming out with four points."
 
Upcoming Matches
SMU returns to Dallas for a flurry of home AAC matches including Temple on April 1^st, No. 67 Wichita State on April 2^nd, and No. 31 Memphis on April 4^th.
 
Singles
1. Lleyton Cronje def Adam Neff 7-6, 6-7, 7-5
2. Liam Krall def. Bogdan Pavel 6-2. 6-7, 7-5
3. Alan Rubio def. Caleb Chakravarthi 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
4. No. 78 Trey Hilderbrand def. Pranav Kumar 6-4, 7-5
5. Ivan Thamma def. JC Roddick 5-7, 7-6, 6-1
6. Julian Steinhausen def. Quinn Snyder 7-6, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. No. 35 Hilderbrand/Pavel def. No. 76 Neff/Thamma 6-2
2. Krall/Kumar def. Roddick/Cronje 6-2
3. Steinhausen/Allen def. Snyder/Rubio 6-3