No. 52 SMU (14-13) at No. 59 Rice (12-9)
George R. Brown Tennis Center – Houston, Texas
10 a.m. | Saturday, Apr. 15
Season Stats
Box Score
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HOUSTON, Texas (SMU)- No. 52 SMU men's tennis added its second ranked road victory on Saturday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center as the Mustangs rolled over No. 59 Rice 4-2.
SMU picked up its fifth top-75 victory and second in less than a week with the rout of the Owls. The win was the Mustangs' 26
th ever in the 48-match history between the two programs.
"So honored that SMU and Rice get to play for Turpin Cup each season," said head coach
Grant Chen. "Jack Turpin and the entire Turpin family has been a fixture in the tennis community. We earned a hard-fought road win today against a tough team. We know Mr. Turpin would be proud of today's festive and competitive tennis as both teams did great."
SMU got off to a 0-1 start after Rice took the doubles point. In two matchups that saw more holds than breaks, Rice would take courts 1 and 2 to seal the doubles point.
Liam Krall and
Callaway Clark were in another tight battle on Court 2 agaisnt Santiago Navarro and Campbell Salmon. Neither team got a break in the first eight games until Navarro and Salmon broke Krall and Clark to get the 5-4 edge. The Rice tandem would hold serve and get the first win of the day.
On Court 1, each team held serve to 5-5 before Wed Barnett and Trinity Grear got the break to go up 6-5. The Rice duo held serve taking down
Adam Neff and
Kyle Sillman, 7-5 clinching the doubles point for the Owls.
Julian Steinhausen and
Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo were up 5-4 against Dylan Heap and Kabeer Kapasi as Court 1 clinched the doubles point, leaving the match unfinished.
SMU surrendered just three sets in singles play en route to the comeback.
Julian Steinhausen was the first court off as he notched his second straight win to catch SMU's first point of the day. The junior cruised by in the opening set with a comfortable 6-3 win, then promptly hung a 6-1 final set to get the point.
Adam Neff, the No. 66 ITA singles player, got off the court in straight sets moments after Steinhausen's win. Neff improved to 11 straight after he bested Trinity Greer on Court 1 6-4, 6-2.
Neff, the AAC Player of the Week (Mar. 21) improves a team high of 13 wins and has only dropped two matches this season.
Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo put the Mustangs within one of the match after a straight set victory on Court 3. Muniz-Hidalgo and Dylan Heap went back-and-forth in the opening set to force a tiebreaker. Muniz-Hidalgo got the nod in the breaker to clinch the opening set. The second set was all Muniz-Hidalgo as he cruised to a 6-3 win improving SMU to the 3-1 lead.
Rice would get the next point as Kabeer Kapasi took down
Louis Cloud on Court 6. Cloud clawed out of a 3-5 hole to force the second set tiebreaker in hopes of playing a deciding third set but Kapasi got the breaker with a 7-2 win.
Liam Krall earned the match-clincher for the Mustangs. Krall rallied back from a tight 5-7 opening set loss on Court 2 to Wed Barnett, forcing a deciding third set with a 6-1 second set rally. Krall remained in complete control of the third set with a 6-2 win giving SMU the ranked road win.
Pranav Kumar's match was left unfinished as he was on his way to a straight set victory. Kumar took the opening set 7-6 and was up 6-5 in the second before play was left unfinished.
The Mustangs will stay on the road as they travel to Orlando, Fla. to take on No. 60 Florida Atlantic. Starting Apr. 20, the Mustangs will compete for a back-to-back conference title in the AAC Tournament in Orlando, Fla.
#52 SMU 4, #59 Rice 2
Apr 15, 2023 at
Singles Competition
1. #66 Adam Neff (SMU) def. Trinity Greer (RICE) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2. Liam Krall (SMU) def. Wes Barnett (RICE) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3. Antonio Muniz Hidalg (SMU) def. Dylan Heap (RICE) 7-6, 6-3 |
| 4. Julian Steinhausen (SMU) def. Santiago Navarro (RICE) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 5. campbell Salmon (RICE) vs. Pranav Kumar (SMU) 6-7, 5-6, unfinished |
| 6. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Louis Cloud (SMU) 6-3, 7-6 |
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,3,6,2) |
