NEW ORLEANS (SMU) – No. 31 SMU defeated No. 64 Tulane 5-2 on the road today. Adam Neff set the tone with an outstanding match on court one. The Mustangs improve to 16-6 overall, 6-0 in AAC play, and 6-0 away from home. They have won five straight and eight out of their last 10.
 
Tulane got off to a strong start in doubles, jumping out to early leads on courts one and two. Caleb Chakravarthi and Ivan Thamma couldn't battle back on the second line, losing 3-6. The Mustangs' hottest doubles pairing of Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen continued their season dominance, closing out a 6-4 victory by breaking their opponents in the final game. They have won their last four matches and are 4-0 in conference play. The Green Wave closed out the doubles point with a close 6-4 win on court one over Neff and Pranav Kumar.
 
SMU quickly took the lead with straight set victories on courts three and four. Tied 4-4 in the first set, Chakravarthi pulled away on court three, winning the next two games to take the early lead. He would go on to win the final four games of the second set to win 6-4 and tie the match at 1-1. Kumar continued his effectiveness on court four, jumping out to a 4-0 first set lead. He would go on to win the set 6-2 and the second 6-4. SMU took the 2-1 lead and Kumar improved his fourth line record to 7-2.
 
On court one, Neff and his opponent split the first two sets, 6-4, 4-6. In the third, SMU's standout sophomore pulled away, winning four of the last five games to win the decisive set 6-3. Neff hit a number of incredible winners in the final set. The Mustangs led 3-1, just one victory from clinching the match.
 
Steinhausen got the job done on court five. He won the back and forth first set in a tiebreak, 7-6. After trailing 3-4 in the second, Steinhausen won the next three games to secure his match victory and the win for SMU. He has now won four straight singles matches in addition to his mentioned doubles streak with Allen.
 
Liam Krall put in a gutsy performance for SMU on court two. After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, Krall dominated 6-2 in the second before winning 6-4 in the third. He holds a team-high 13 wins (13-3) on the season.
 
Having clinched the match and leading 5-1, SMU chose to retire on court six. Thamma and his opponent were tied 2-2 in the third set at the time.
 
Winning Streaks
Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen have won four straight doubles matches and nine of their last 10. They are 9-2 in dual play this season and 5-0 in conference play.
 
Liam Krall is on a three-match winning streak. The former AAC Freshman of the Year is 13-3 in singles dual matches this season.
 
Steinhausen has won his last four singles matches, the last three being in straight sets.
 
Upcoming Matches
The Mustangs will return home for an April 16^th doubleheader with Rice at 11:00 a.m. and Senior Day against UT Dallas at 5:00 p.m.
 
Singles
1. Neff def. Hoeijmans 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Krall def. Kuenkler 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
3. Chakravarthi def. Petrovic 6-4, 6-2
4. Kumar def. Barry 6-2, 6-4
5. Steinhausen def. Bancila 7-6, 6-4
6. Thamma retired against de Alba 6-4, 3-6, 2-2
 
Doubles
1. Barry/Jacobson def. Neff/Kumar 6-4
2. Kuenkler/Petrovic def. Thamma/Chakravarthi 6-3
3. Steinhausen/Allen def. Hoeijmans/de Alba 6-4