AUSTIN, Texas – SMU men's tennis lost to LSU 3-4 in Saturday's NCAA Tournament First Round action. After falling behind 1-3, the Mustangs battled back to tie the score 3-3. They couldn't quite complete the comeback victory, falling short by just one point. SMU concludes its season as AAC Champions and with a 22-7 record.
 
The Mustangs got on the board first, clinching a tight doubles battle on a court three deuce point. After falling behind 1-3 on court one, Adam Neff and Pranav Kumar battled back with four straight games. With the Mustangs leading 5-4, they broke LSU's top pairing to win the match. LSU bounced back with a 6-3 victory on court two over Ivan Thamma and Caleb Chakravarthi. With the doubles point on the line, Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen delivered on court three. Up 5-4 at 40 all, Steinhausen fired an ace to clinch the doubles point for SMU.
 
LSU came storming back to take a 3-1 lead with victories on courts one, six, and five. The Tigers' No. 29 ranked Ronald Hohmann defeated Neff 6-4, 6-2 on court one. Shortly after, SMU freshman Louis Cloud fell 1-6, 4-6 on court six. LSU's Boris Kozlov knocked off Steinhausen on court five to pull the Tigers to within one point of the match victory.
 
Liam Krall brought the Mustangs to within one, winning in straight sets on court two. The sophomore won a critical first set tiebreak before running away with the second set 6-2.
 
Kumar leveled the score at 3-3 with a three-set victory on court four. Kumar took the first set 6-3, but dropped the second 2-6. He left no questions with a dominant 6-0 third set to secure the win.
 
The NCAA First Round match would come down to court three where the Mustangs' Chakravarthi faced LSU's Kent Hunter. Chakravarthi won the first set 6-2 before Hunter took the second 6-2. After being tied 2-2 in the third, Hunter took the next four games to clinch for LSU.
 
Quote from Coach Chen
"While we may have lost the dual match today, our players competed like champions. Thank you to our seniors for giving it their all every day during their time at the Hilltop. We were prepared for a battle and we got one. LSU is a very good team and they captured a few of the crucial points at pivotal moments. I am proud of our student-athletes for achieving so many firsts this season, and look forward to building next year."
 
Winning Streaks
Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen have won 14 of their last 16. They finish the season at 15-3 in dual play.

Liam Krall finished the season on an eight-match winning streak. The AAC Championships' Most Outstanding Player went 18-3 in singles dual matches.
 
Season by the Numbers
SMU went 22-7 this season. They won their first AAC title and achieved a top ranking of No. 20 in the nation. They were undefeated in AAC play (10-0) and on the road (7-0). The Mustangs were 10-4 against ranked opponents and won 11 straight matches from March 25^th to April 24^th. Saturday's match marked their 24^th appearance in the NCAA Championships.

Liam Krall won the AAC Championships' Most Outstanding Player award, Grant Chen won AAC Coach of the Year, Krall, Pranav Kumar, and Adam Neff made the All-Conference Team, and both Kumar and Neff received AAC Player of the Week honors.

Four Mustangs competed in the ATP Tour's 2022 Dallas Open in February. The tournament was hosted at SMU's Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex.

Grant Chen won his 50^th career match as a head coach on March 13^th, defeating No. 60 UTSA 4-0.
 
Singles
1. #29 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. Adam Neff (SMU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Liam Krall (SMU) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
3. Kent Hunter (LSU) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (SMU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
5. Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Julian Steinhausen (SMU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Joao Graca (LSU) def. Louis Cloud (SMU) 6-1, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. #39 Adam Neff/Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Vlad Lobak/Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-4
2. Kent Hunter/Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Caleb Chakravarthi/Ivan Thamma (SMU) 6-3
3. Huntley Allen/Julian Steinhausen (SMU) def. Ben Koch/Nick Watson (LSU) 6-4