DALLAS – The Mustangs knocked off Rice 4-1 in the Turpin Cup and UT Dallas 5-2 today in Dallas. The five Mustang seniors,
Huntley Allen,
Caleb Chakravarthi,
Jack Kite,
Eddie Ross, and
Ivan Thamma, were honored during the second match. SMU improves to 18-6 overall, 11-4 at home. They have won seven straight matches entering their regular season finale at Tulsa on Monday, April 18
th.
Turpin Cup Versus Rice
The match got started with an exciting doubles battle. The Mustangs' red hot third-line pairing of Allen and
Julian Steinhausen got SMU off to an early lead, dominating 6-2 for their fifth straight victory. Rice answered back with a 6-3 win on court two. The doubles would come down to SMU's 82
nd ranked duo of
Adam Neff and
Pranav Kumar on court one. Tied 5-5, the Mustangs got a hold before breaking their opponents to secure the point.
Kumar kept it going for SMU, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on court four to extend the Mustangs' lead to 2-0. Kumar has won four straight singles matches and improves to 8-2 on the fourth line.
Rice's top player, Haoyuan Huang, defeated Neff on court one to cut the lead in half. Just minutes later, Steinhausen closed out his fourth straight set victory in a row on court five, 6-4, 7-6. He trailed 2-4 in the second set before mounting the comeback. The sophomore has been playing his best tennis as of late, having won his last five singles and doubles matches (with Allen).
Thamma closed out the match for the Mustangs on court six. The grad-senior won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Versus UT Dallas
SMU got off to a great start in doubles. Thamma and
Kyle Pham breezed their way to a 6-0 victory on court two.
Callaway Clark and
Kyle Sillman finished the job with a 6-4 win at the top line. Seniors Ross and Kite played on court three. Their match went unfinished, tied 4-4 when SMU clinched the doubles point.
Freshman
Alex Stafford extended the Mustangs' lead on court five with his second straight set victory this season. Stafford's 6-1, 6-0 win kept his undefeated dual record intact at 3-0.
John Zisette also improved to 3-0 in dual play with his third straight set victory this season, 6-1, 6-1 on court four.
Louis Cloud sealed the win for the Mustangs, defeating his opponent 6-0, 6-2 on court two. While the Mustangs had already clinched the match, UT Dallas struck back with wins on courts one and six.
Senior
Huntley Allen tacked on another point for SMU on court three, 6-3, 6-3, to close out the 5-2 victory.
Winning Streaks
Huntley Allen and
Julian Steinhausen have won five straight doubles matches and 10 of their last 11. They are 11-2 in dual play this season.
Steinhausen has won his last five singles matches, the last four being in straight sets.
Pranav Kumar has won four singles matches in a row and six of his last seven. He is 8-2 on line four and 12-5 overall this season.
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.
Upcoming Matches
The Mustangs travel to Oklahoma to take on No. 49 Tulsa on Monday, April 18
th at 5:00 p.m. CT. SMU will also be competing in the AAC Championships which begin on April 22
nd at Tulsa.
SMU 4, Rice 1
Singles
| 1. Haoyuan Huang (RU) def. Adam Neff (SMU) 7-5, 7-5 |
| 2. Liam Krall (SMU) vs. Sumit Sarkar (RU) 3-6, 6-3, 5-2, unfinished |
| 3. Caleb Chakravarthi (SMU) vs. Emir Sendogan (RU) 6-4, 3-6, 0-0, unfinished |
| 4. Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Campbell Salmon (RU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 5. Julian Steinhausen (SMU) def. Wes Barnett (RU) 6-4, 7-6 |
| 6. Ivan Thamma (SMU) def. Trinity Grear (RU) 6-3, 6-4 |
Doubles
SMU 5, UT Dallas 2
Singles
Doubles
