No. 4 Seed Mustangs Begin AAC Championship Against No. 5 Seed Tulsa

No. 4 Seed (51) SMU (15-13) vs No. 5 seed (53) Tulsa (11-12)
USTA National Campus – Orlando, FL
Friday, Apr. 21 | 8 a.m. CT
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ORLANDO (SMU)- No. 51 SMU men's tennis earned the No. 4 seed in the AAC tournament where the Mustangs will take on the No. 5 seed Tulsa in the quarterfinals on Friday, Apr. 21 at 8 a.m. CT.

The Mustangs earn the fourth seed after a four-match win streak over ranked opponents leading into the tournament, including top ranked conference opponent and No. 1 seed Memphis resulting in an 15-13 overall regular season record.

SMU won its first AAC title last season and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Mustangs are looking to defend their title, which will require three straight wins on the way.

The Mustangs first matchup is against the No. 5 seed Tulsa- which they have defeated once this year already.

SMU defeated then No. 55 Tulsa on Mar. 19 at the Styslinger/ Altec Tennis Complex in a dominate 4-1 fashion. The Mustangs won the doubles point and the top three singles courts to clinch the win. SMU picked up its then second ranked win of the season and earned its third straight over Tulsa.

In the final batch of ITA rankings before the postseason, SMU moved one spot to the No. 51 ranked team in the nation. On a 12-match win streak, Adam Neff moves to the No. 65 ITA singles player and is the highest ranked singles player in the conference. Neff and doubles partner Pranav Kumar close out the Mustangs rankings as the No. 68 ranked doubles duo in the nation.

MUSTANG MARK
No. 65 ranked Adam Neff was named the AAC Player of the Week on Tuesday, Mar. 21. after scoring a pair of singles wins against top-35 players (Cal and Tulsa). Neff is on a 12 match win steak improving to 14-2 in singles matches in the dual match season, including seven victories against ranked players.

Neff and doubles partner, Pranav Kumar are the No. 68 ranked doubles team in the nation. Neff and Kumar hold three ranked victories together, most recently taking down the No. 12 duo from Baylor.

Liam Krall got the match-clincher against No. 59 Rice as he 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. Krall was the first court off with a straight set victory in SMU's final regular season match against then No. 60 Florida Atlantic. Krall improves to 11-7 in dual matches this season.

Julian Steinhausen is on a two-match win streak after being the first court off in singles play with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Court 4 against No. 59 Rice.

Steinahusen and doubles partner, Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo move to 4-0 after clinching the doubles point for the Mustangs against Memphis.

Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo holds an 11-8 record throughout the season. Muniz-Hidalgo was the third match off putting SMU within one of the match with a straight set victory against No. 59 Rice. Muniz-Hidalgo was the second match off against then No. 60 Florida Atlantic with a dominate straight set victory. Muniz-Hidalgo picked up the match-clincher in the Mustangs biggest win of the season, over then No. 21 Cornell.

Louis Cloud improves to three match-clinchers with a victory against Old Dominion on Court 6. Cloud picked up two singles wins for the Mustangs at the ITA Kickoff weekend going undefeated throughout the weekend. Since fall 2022, Cloud has gone 17-13.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Tulsa ended the regular season with an 11-12 overall record. The Green Wave captured three ranked wins over the season including a 4-3 victory over conference opponent then No. 58 South Florida on Apr. 14.

Kody Pearson is the lone member of the Golden Hurricane ranked in the last ITA rankings at No. 76 earning him the third ranked singles player in the conference.

Pearson and Neff battled on Court 1 in the regular season match where Neff defeated Pearson in three sets earning his second biggest win of the season.

SMU IN THE ITA RANKINGS
ITA Team Ranking (April 18 ranking)

51 SMU

Men's Singles (April 18 ranking)

65 Adam Neff

Men's Doubles (April 18 ranking)

68 Pranav Kumar/ Adam Neff

ITA Team Ranking (April 11 ranking)

52 SMU

Men's Singles (April 11 ranking)

66 Adam Neff

Men's Doubles (April 11 ranking)

66 Pranav Kumar/ Adam Neff

ITA Team Ranking (April 4 ranking)

55 SMU

Men's Singles (April 4 ranking)

66 Adam Neff

Men's Doubles (April 4 ranking)

57 Pranav Kumar/ Adam Neff

ITA Team Ranking (March 28 ranking)

50 SMU

ITA Team Ranking (March 21 ranking)

47 SMU

Men's Singles (March 14 ranking)

64 Adam Neff

Men's Doubles (March 14 ranking)

69 Pranav Kumar/ Adam Neff

ITA Team Ranking (March 14 ranking)

50 SMU

ITA Team Ranking (February 28 ranking)

75 SMU

ITA Team Ranking (February 21 ranking)

68 SMU

Men's Doubles (February 21 ranking)

55 Pranav Kumar/ Adam Neff

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Players Mentioned

Louis Cloud

Liam Krall

Pranav Kumar

Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo

Adam Neff

Julian Steinhausen

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