Friday, April 1
Dallas
12:00 p.m
SMU
vs
Temple
Photo by: George Walker/DFWsportsonline
No. 31 Mustangs Set To Host Temple, Wichita State In Dallas
Mar 31 | Men's Tennis
No. 31 SMU (12-6) vs Temple (9-5), Wichita State (11-8)
Dallas, Texas
April 1-2, 2022
SMU Season Stats
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DALLAS – SMU is set for a busy AAC tennis weekend in Dallas. The Mustangs will face Temple at 12:00 p.m. CT on Friday (April 1) and Wichita State at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday (April 2). Both matches will be held at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. SMU is ranked No. 31 in the country and stand at 12-6, 6-4 at home so far this season. The Mustangs have jumped 27 spots in the ITA national rankings since February 23rd.
The Mustangs travelled to Orlando, Florida for their last match at No. 57 UCF. SMU won the match 4-3, as Ivan Thamma clinched with his three-set victory on court five. This was SMU's first conference action of the year. Their win was the first victory over UCF by any AAC team since April 2019.
Scouting Temple
The Owls enter the match with a 9-5 record, having won four of their last five. Their wins include victories over Navy, Delaware, and Monmouth. They fought tough in 5-2 losses to current No. 39 VCU and No. 34 Princeton.
Sophomore Marin Delmas plays the top line for Temple, currently holding a 7-2 dual record. Thibault Frumholz (8-4) and Gregoire Barety (8-5) are tied with a team-leading total of eight wins this season. Delmas/Gorregues are the Owls top doubles team with a 5-3 record playing across the top two lines.
SMU is 1-1 all-time versus Temple. Both matches were played in Dallas, the last being in 2018 when the Owls won 4-3.
Scouting Wichita State
The Shockers enter the weekend with an overall record of 11-8. They have won two in a row and four out of their last six. Notable wins include 4-3 over No. 62 Tulane, 6-1 at current No. 66 Denver, and 6-1 over Purdue. They have lost 6-1 at No. 22 Oklahoma, 4-3 to No. 30 Princeton, 4-2 against No. 46 Tulsa, and twice to current No. 40 Texas Tech. The Shockers have climbed as high as No. 55 this season.
Their lineup has been extremely effective from lines 2-5 in particular. These four lines have a combined 48-20 record in dual play this season. Outside of his play on the top line, freshman Kristof Minarik is 8-0 (lines 2 and 3). Two of their 4-6-line players are on impressive winning streaks. Redshirt sophomores Alex Richards and Ray Lo have won four and five in a row, respectively. Their top doubles pairing of Minarik/Richards is 10-3 and have been ranked as high as No. 49 this season. Mrsic/Ovil have won four straight doubles matches.
The Mustangs are 4-1 all-time against the Shockers. Wichita State's one win was in their last meeting in 2018, 4-3.
Hot Mustangs
Liam Krall has won two straight singles matches and four of his last five. The sophomore also split sets in an unfinished match with No. 18 ranked singles player Luc Fomba of No. 3 TCU.
Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen have won six of their last seven finished doubles matches. They are 7-2 in dual play this season.
Ivan Thamma has won five out of his last seven including two clinches (No. 35 San Diego and No. 57 UCF).
Making National Noise
The Mustangs pulled off a dramatic 4-3 road win over No. 18 Texas A&M on February 27th. This was SMU's highest ranked win since defeating No. 8 Texas Tech in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament and third top 20 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 5th. San Diego native Ivan Thamma, a graduate transfer from UC Davis, clinched the match for 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.
In a close 4-3 loss to No. 19 Middle Tennessee on March 3rd, Thamma and Neff defeated the No. 47 ranked doubles team of Francisco Rocha and Oskar Poulsen 6-3. Caleb Chakravarthi also beat No. 101 ranked singles player Chris Edge in straight sets 7-6, 6-1.
On March 25th the Mustangs knocked off No. 57 UCF 4-3 in Orlando, handing them their first AAC loss since April 2019. For the second time this season, Thamma clinched the match. The grad-senior completed the comeback after being down a set and fighting off two match points in the second.
Ranking the 'Stangs
Since February 23rd, the Mustangs have jumped 27 spots in the ITA national rankings. They currently stand at No. 31. The highest SMU climbed last year was No. 44.
Adam Neff and Ivan Thamma came in at No. 76 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings. This was the first singles or doubles ranking for SMU this season.
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.
Chen Hits Milestone Wins Mark
The Mustangs defeated UTSA 4-0 on March 13th, marking Head Coach Grant Chen's 50th career win. He previously spent six years at UCLA as Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach before coming to SMU in 2018.
AAC Honors
Graduate senior Pranav Kumar was named AAC Men's Tennis player of the week on March 1st, 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 20th.
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.
Dallas, Texas
April 1-2, 2022
SMU Season Stats
American | Live Stats | Live Stream
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
DALLAS – SMU is set for a busy AAC tennis weekend in Dallas. The Mustangs will face Temple at 12:00 p.m. CT on Friday (April 1) and Wichita State at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday (April 2). Both matches will be held at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex. SMU is ranked No. 31 in the country and stand at 12-6, 6-4 at home so far this season. The Mustangs have jumped 27 spots in the ITA national rankings since February 23rd.
The Mustangs travelled to Orlando, Florida for their last match at No. 57 UCF. SMU won the match 4-3, as Ivan Thamma clinched with his three-set victory on court five. This was SMU's first conference action of the year. Their win was the first victory over UCF by any AAC team since April 2019.
Scouting Temple
The Owls enter the match with a 9-5 record, having won four of their last five. Their wins include victories over Navy, Delaware, and Monmouth. They fought tough in 5-2 losses to current No. 39 VCU and No. 34 Princeton.
Sophomore Marin Delmas plays the top line for Temple, currently holding a 7-2 dual record. Thibault Frumholz (8-4) and Gregoire Barety (8-5) are tied with a team-leading total of eight wins this season. Delmas/Gorregues are the Owls top doubles team with a 5-3 record playing across the top two lines.
SMU is 1-1 all-time versus Temple. Both matches were played in Dallas, the last being in 2018 when the Owls won 4-3.
Scouting Wichita State
The Shockers enter the weekend with an overall record of 11-8. They have won two in a row and four out of their last six. Notable wins include 4-3 over No. 62 Tulane, 6-1 at current No. 66 Denver, and 6-1 over Purdue. They have lost 6-1 at No. 22 Oklahoma, 4-3 to No. 30 Princeton, 4-2 against No. 46 Tulsa, and twice to current No. 40 Texas Tech. The Shockers have climbed as high as No. 55 this season.
Their lineup has been extremely effective from lines 2-5 in particular. These four lines have a combined 48-20 record in dual play this season. Outside of his play on the top line, freshman Kristof Minarik is 8-0 (lines 2 and 3). Two of their 4-6-line players are on impressive winning streaks. Redshirt sophomores Alex Richards and Ray Lo have won four and five in a row, respectively. Their top doubles pairing of Minarik/Richards is 10-3 and have been ranked as high as No. 49 this season. Mrsic/Ovil have won four straight doubles matches.
The Mustangs are 4-1 all-time against the Shockers. Wichita State's one win was in their last meeting in 2018, 4-3.
Hot Mustangs
Liam Krall has won two straight singles matches and four of his last five. The sophomore also split sets in an unfinished match with No. 18 ranked singles player Luc Fomba of No. 3 TCU.
Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen have won six of their last seven finished doubles matches. They are 7-2 in dual play this season.
Ivan Thamma has won five out of his last seven including two clinches (No. 35 San Diego and No. 57 UCF).
Making National Noise
The Mustangs pulled off a dramatic 4-3 road win over No. 18 Texas A&M on February 27th. This was SMU's highest ranked win since defeating No. 8 Texas Tech in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament and third top 20 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 5th. San Diego native Ivan Thamma, a graduate transfer from UC Davis, clinched the match for 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.
In a close 4-3 loss to No. 19 Middle Tennessee on March 3rd, Thamma and Neff defeated the No. 47 ranked doubles team of Francisco Rocha and Oskar Poulsen 6-3. Caleb Chakravarthi also beat No. 101 ranked singles player Chris Edge in straight sets 7-6, 6-1.
On March 25th the Mustangs knocked off No. 57 UCF 4-3 in Orlando, handing them their first AAC loss since April 2019. For the second time this season, Thamma clinched the match. The grad-senior completed the comeback after being down a set and fighting off two match points in the second.
Ranking the 'Stangs
Since February 23rd, the Mustangs have jumped 27 spots in the ITA national rankings. They currently stand at No. 31. The highest SMU climbed last year was No. 44.
Adam Neff and Ivan Thamma came in at No. 76 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings. This was the first singles or doubles ranking for SMU this season.
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.
Chen Hits Milestone Wins Mark
The Mustangs defeated UTSA 4-0 on March 13th, marking Head Coach Grant Chen's 50th career win. He previously spent six years at UCLA as Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach before coming to SMU in 2018.
AAC Honors
Graduate senior Pranav Kumar was named AAC Men's Tennis player of the week on March 1st, 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 20th.
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.
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