Men’s Tennis Set to Face SMU in American Athletic Conference Tournament

PHILADELPHIA – Temple men's tennis (12-9) is set to face off against first seeded, SMU (19-6) in the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament as announced by the conference Tuesday morning. Temple, who received the eighth seed will take to the court on Friday, Apr. 22 at 10 a.m. ET to kick off the championship weekend. The tournament is hosted by the University of Tulsa at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

The Owls

The Cherry and White enter the match with momentum, playing No. 49 Tulsa extremely close in their most recent match, before ultimately falling, 4-2. The Owls advanced three singles positions to three sets, but fell just short of the win.
Prior to Tulsa, the Owls picked up a notable win over St. John's, defeating the Red Storm 4-2 at home. The win served as the Owls ninth straight season going unbeaten at the TU Pavilion, with their last loss coming in Apr. of 2013.
Marin Delmas has been a standout for the Cherry and White this year on both an individual level and in doubles play. Delmas leads the team from the No. 1 spot, posting a 17-4 overall record which includes a 12-5 dual mark.
Delmas is joined by partner Louis Gorregues in doubles play, where the pair has accrued a 19-6 overall record, which includes a 9-4 showing in dual play from the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

Scouting No. 26 SMU

As of Apr. 20, SMU has sat at No. 26 in the ITA National Rankings, picking up various wins over highly ranked opponents throughout the season.
Of the Mustangs 19 wins, eight have been ranked in the top 75, including No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 35 San Diego, No. 60 USTA, No. 65 South Florida, No. 57 UCF, No. 37 Memphis, No. 64 Tulane, and No. 49 Tulsa.
SMU has shown impressive doubles performances this year, as two pairs are ranked in the ITA Top 90. Adam Neff and Ivan Thamma clock in at No. 58 nationally in the latest poll while Neff has also secured a No. 80 ranking with partner Pranav Kumar for the week of Apr. 13.
The duo of Neff and Thamma have claimed the No. 1 spot for the Mustangs, posting an 16-9 overall record which includes an 8-6 dual performance.
On an individual level, Liam Krall leads the team in singles play, posting a 13-3 dual mark which includes a 2-0 showing from the No. 1 spot, 7-2 mark from the No. 2 position and a 4-1 performance from the No. 4 spot.

Match Notes

This is not the first time the Owls have met SMU in the first round of the AAC Tournament. In 2018, the Owls faced off against the Mustangs, edging out SMU,4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.