No. 4 Seed (51) SMU (17-13) vs No. 1 Seed (34) Tulsa (13-6)
USTA National Campus – Orlando, FL
Saturday, Apr. 22 | 11 a.m. CT
Box Score
 
No. 4 Seed (51) SMU (17-13) vs No. 2 Seed Tulane (15-10)
Sunday, Apr. 23 | 11 a.m. CT
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ORLANDO (SMU)- SMU men's tennis is one win away from back-to-back conference titles and affirming its place atop the American Athletic Conference.

A matchup that had everyone on the edge of their seat for three and a half hours resulted in the No. 4 seed Mustangs taking out the No. 1 seed Memphis Tigers 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the USTA National Campus as they punched their ticket to a second straight conference final.

SMU, which captured its first ever AAC title last year, will battle the No. 2 seed Tulane Sunday morning at 11 a.m. CT.

The Green Wave had a similar tale on their journey to the finals as they earned a hard fought 4-3 win over the No. 3 seed UCF.

The Mustangs look to get their revenge over the Green Wave as they took the regular season matchup with a 4-2 decision on Apr. 1.

"What a college match. So much respect for Coach Paul and Memphis. Every match in our conference is tough and it's anyone's game. We have been focusing on enjoying the moment and our boys really embraced the challenge today, said head coach Grant Chen. "I was proud to see them respond after dropping the doubles point by winning five first sets. We have another huge test against a very good team. Tulane got us a few weeks ago and we are preparing for a battle."

SMU faced a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point on courts 1 and 3. The Mustangs then cemented their comeback with triumphs on courts 1, 3, 4 and 5 for their return to the grand finale.

SMU trailed in doubles play as the Tigers tandem of Pablo Alemany and Oscar Cutting got the better of Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo and Julian Steinhausen 6-3 on Court 3.

David Stevenson and Jeremy Taylor clinched the doubles point for Memphis with a 6-4 win over the No. 68 ranked duo of Adam Neff and Pranav Kumar. Tied up at 3-3 the Memphis duo found a break to go up 4-3. Serving for the match at 5-3, the SMU duo then got a big break closing in the lead at 5-4 and giving themselves a chance at a comeback. The Memphis duo got a hold and served away the match resulting in the 1-0 lead.

Although play was stopped, Callaway Clark and Liam Krall appeared to be on their way to a victory on Court 2 over Conor Gannon and Harry Rock.  The match went back-and-forth for the first eight games as Clark and Krall got the big hold to put them up 5-4 with momentum on their side. The match was left unfinished due to the win on court 1.

The dual was hardly decided as SMU came to play in singles.

Adam Neff made light work of the nations No. 69 singles player, Pablo Alemany, as he posted a 6-0, 6-3 victory on Court 1. Neff was on his way to hang a double bagel on Alemany as he was up 3-0 in the second before Alemany got a second wind. Neff continued to keep his foot on the pedal cruising to a straight set win and SMU's first point of the day.

Pranav Kumar got the nod on Court 4 against Harry Rock with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Kumar served out the match and brought the energy to the crowd as he gave SMU's first lead of the day.

Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo put SMU within one of the match after a straight set victory on Court 3 over Conor Gannon. Muniz-Hidalgo put together textbook material points to snag the 6-3, 6-2 win and increased SMU's hope of an extraordinary comeback.

The momentum shifted back in favor of the Tigers after two straight victories on courts 2 and 6 tying the match up at 3-3.

Oscar Cutting was the first to respond with a pair of 6-4 sets over Liam Krall on Court 2.

After claiming the opening set, 6-3, Louis Cloud found himself on the wrong side of a three-set thriller as Pau Fanlo defeated Cloud in the second 6-3 followed by 6-2 in the third to turn all eyes to Court 5 for the chance of staying alive.

Julian Steinhausen became the hero for the second match in a row as he kept the Mustangs back-to-back hopes alive.

Steinahausen and Jeremy Taylor shared the first 10 games of the opening set as Steinahsuen eventually won, 7-5. Taylor responded with a second set victory at 6-3 resulting in a deciding third set. Steinhausen and Taylor both stayed on serve for the first five games until Steinhausen got the biggest break of the day to go up 4-2. The end was near and everyone could feel it as Steinhausen won the next two games resulting in a team dog pile for the chance to compete in the finals.

"And huge congrats to our women's tennis team for capturing conference today. I love this shared event where we have the opportunity to support and cheer on each other," said Chen.
 
The Mustangs and Green Wave match will be streamed on ESPN +.
 
#51 SMU 4, #34 Memphis 3
Apr 22, 2023 at
Singles Competition

1. #65 Adam Neff (SMU) def. #69 Pablo Alemany (MEMPHIS) 6-0, 6-3

2. Oscar Cutting (MEMPHIS) def. Liam Krall (SMU) 6-4, 6-4

3. Antonio Muniz Hidalg (SMU) def. Conor Gannon (MEMPHIS) 6-3, 6-2

4. Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Harry Rock (MEMPHIS) 6-4, 6-1

5. Julian Steinhausen (SMU) def. Jeremy Taylor (MEMPHIS) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2

6. Pau Fanlo (MEMPHIS) def. Louis Cloud (SMU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

 

Doubles Competition 1. David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (MEMPHIS) def. #68 Adam Neff/Pranav Kumar (SMU) 6-4

2. Conor Gannon/Harry Rock (MEMPHIS) vs. Callaway Clark/Liam Krall (SMU) 4-5, unfinished

3. Pablo Alemany/Oscar Cutting (MEMPHIS) def. Antonio Muniz Hidalg/Julian Steinhausen (SMU) 6-3

 

Match Notes Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,4,3,2,6,5)

American Athletic Conference Semifinals