No. 31 SMU (14-6) v No. 37 Memphis (12-4)
Dallas, Texas
April 4, 2022
 
SMU Season Stats
American | Live Stats | Live Stream
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
 
DALLAS – No. 31 ranked SMU concludes its three-match weekend with a huge inner-conference battle with No. 37 Memphis Monday at 10:00 a.m. CT. The match will be held at the Mustangs' home Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas. Both SMU and Memphis won both of their AAC matches this weekend against Temple and Wichita State. The Mustangs enter the match having won three straight.
 
SMU cruised past Temple on Saturday with a 4-0 sweep before knocking off a strong Wichita State team 4-2 on Saturday. The Tigers defeated both Wichita State and Temple 4-2. Both SMU and Memphis are undefeated in conference play, the Mustangs at 4-0 and the Tigers at 3-0.
 
Scouting Memphis
The 37^th ranked Tigers enter the match with a 12-4 record, having won nine of their last 11. Their wins include victories over current No. 25 Northwestern, No. 57 Tulane, and Alabama. They lost 4-3 to No. 24 Miami, 4-1 to No. 19 Mississippi State, and 4-0 to No. 1 Tennessee.
 
The Tigers' singles lineup is highlighted by 13-0 standout Pablo Alemany Malea, primarily playing at the number five line (11-0). Their third and fourth lines, often played by David Stevenson and Pau Fanlo, have also been very strong, holding a combined 17-7 record. Oscar Cutting has played every match at the number one line, but has lost his last seven (4-11 overall). Memphis has one ranked doubles team in Stevenson and Jeremy Taylor. They are ranked No. 18 in the country and have an overall record of 10-3, all matches being played at the top line.
 
SMU is 5-9 all-time versus Memphis, 5-3 at home. The Mustangs won the first five of the series, but have lost the last nine. SMU's last victory over the Tigers was in 2011.
 
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 seven of their last eight finished doubles matches. They are 8-2 in dual play this season.
 
Ivan Thamma has won five out of his last seven singles matches including two clinches (No. 35 San Diego and No. 57 UCF).
 
Steinhausen has won his last three singles matches, the last two being in straight sets.

Jordi Redelijk is on a three-match winning streak. He is 4-1 in dual play this season. 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 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 5^th. 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 3^rd, 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 25^th 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 23^rd, 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 13^th, marking Head Coach Grant Chen's 50^th 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 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.