Saturday, April 21
Dallas, Texas
1 PM
Tulane University
4
vs
2
#42 UCF
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men's Tennis Upends UCF, Advances to American Athletic Conference Championship Final
Apr 21, 2018 | Men's Tennis
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DALLAS - Seeded No. 2 in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Championships, Tulane overcame the odds of losing the doubles point to defeat No. 3 seed UCF, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the SMU Tennis Complex for its sixth consecutive win and first trip to a conference title match in four years.
Ranked 29th nationally, the Green Wave (17-6) will face No. 5 seed USF (10-15) at noon (CT) in Sunday's championship match at Turpin Stadium. The Bulls have won all four American Athletic Conference crowns since the league's inaugural season in 2014 and own a 14-0 all-time record in tournament play. Tulane's last appearance in a championship match came in 2014 in its final year of Conference USA membership, while its last tournament crown was in 2005.
DALLAS - Seeded No. 2 in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Championships, Tulane overcame the odds of losing the doubles point to defeat No. 3 seed UCF, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the SMU Tennis Complex for its sixth consecutive win and first trip to a conference title match in four years.
Ranked 29th nationally, the Green Wave (17-6) will face No. 5 seed USF (10-15) at noon (CT) in Sunday's championship match at Turpin Stadium. The Bulls have won all four American Athletic Conference crowns since the league's inaugural season in 2014 and own a 14-0 all-time record in tournament play. Tulane's last appearance in a championship match came in 2014 in its final year of Conference USA membership, while its last tournament crown was in 2005.
Tomorrow's 2018 Men's Tennis Championship match is set, as @GreenWaveMTenn reaches the final for the first time after winning four singles matches this afternoon. The @American_DN caught up with head coach Mark Booras to discuss today's win. pic.twitter.com/ByuR9QqMzG
— American Tennis (@American_Tenn) April 21, 2018
A rematch of last year's semifinal, rain forced the match to the indoor courts as the Wave struggled to get going early in doubles and the Knights (11-11) took advantage, earning early breaks at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, respectively. Despite 52nd-ranked Constantin Schmitz and Ewan Moore exchanging blows with UCF's fourth-ranked duo in the No. 1 spot, the Knights broke away to win, 6-1, on court two, before clinching the first team point of the day with a 6-2 victory on court three.
Entering the match, the Wave owned a perfect 14-0 record this season when winning the doubles point, but were just 2-6 when they did not.
"I like how the guys kept their composure today," head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras said. "They were faced with basically a beat-down in doubles, and that can be a huge momentum swing for anybody, but our guys stepped up to the challenge and took it to them in singles."
Tulane did not look sharp early in singles, but that changed quickly as the Green Wave claimed the first set on courts one, two, three and four, despite UCF claiming the remaining two.
Tulane struck first in singles and tied up the overall match when Luis Erlenbusch finished things from the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-2, before the 14th-ranked Schmitz gave the Wave their first lead of the day, 2-1, with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph at the No. 1 position. The victory was the 100th of his collegiate career and his 10th in a row.
UCF pulled back within one, 3-2, with a straight-set victory at the No. 6 spot, but Tulane was closing in on the clinch with Stewart leading his second-set tiebreaker at No. 3 and the 105th-ranked Moore ahead 5-3 in the second set at No. 2. Stewart finished off his opponent first, notching the 6-1, 7-6(3) win to punch the Green Wave's ticket to the finals.
"It's going to take confidence, composure and focus," Booras said. "USF is a great team and they've had their ups and downs this year. We know they're going to bring a great product to the table and push us to the limit. Our guys just need to take it to them. I'm looking forward to the battle tomorrow."
#29 Tulane 4, #42 UCF 2
Singles competition
1. #14 Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Korey Lovett (UCF) 6-4, 6-4
2. #105 Ewan Moore (TLN) vs. Gabriel Decamps (UCF) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Alan Rubio (UCF) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) def. Mikahil Sokolovskiy (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Eero Vasa (UCF) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Danny Kerznerman (UCF) def. Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Constantin Schmitz/Ewan Moore (TLN) vs. Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa (UCF) 4-4, unfinished
2. Alan Rubio/Enrique Paya (UCF) def. Hamish Stewart/Tyler Schick (TLN) 6-1
3. Danny Kerznerman/Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. Luis Erlenbusch/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,1,5,6,3)
Entering the match, the Wave owned a perfect 14-0 record this season when winning the doubles point, but were just 2-6 when they did not.
"I like how the guys kept their composure today," head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras said. "They were faced with basically a beat-down in doubles, and that can be a huge momentum swing for anybody, but our guys stepped up to the challenge and took it to them in singles."
Tulane did not look sharp early in singles, but that changed quickly as the Green Wave claimed the first set on courts one, two, three and four, despite UCF claiming the remaining two.
Tulane struck first in singles and tied up the overall match when Luis Erlenbusch finished things from the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-2, before the 14th-ranked Schmitz gave the Wave their first lead of the day, 2-1, with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph at the No. 1 position. The victory was the 100th of his collegiate career and his 10th in a row.
Tyler Schick pushed the Knights to the brink by bouncing back from a 6-1 defeat in the first set of his No. 5 singles match to win the final two frames, 6-3 and 6-0, for his fifth consecutive win.Congratulations to senior Constantin Schmitz who won his 100TH collegiate match in today's @American_Tenn semifinal victory!#RollWave ?????? #Wave100 pic.twitter.com/9k7Zum9H7p
— Tulane Men's Tennis (@GreenWaveMTenn) April 21, 2018
UCF pulled back within one, 3-2, with a straight-set victory at the No. 6 spot, but Tulane was closing in on the clinch with Stewart leading his second-set tiebreaker at No. 3 and the 105th-ranked Moore ahead 5-3 in the second set at No. 2. Stewart finished off his opponent first, notching the 6-1, 7-6(3) win to punch the Green Wave's ticket to the finals.
"It's going to take confidence, composure and focus," Booras said. "USF is a great team and they've had their ups and downs this year. We know they're going to bring a great product to the table and push us to the limit. Our guys just need to take it to them. I'm looking forward to the battle tomorrow."
#29 Tulane 4, #42 UCF 2
Singles competition
1. #14 Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Korey Lovett (UCF) 6-4, 6-4
2. #105 Ewan Moore (TLN) vs. Gabriel Decamps (UCF) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Alan Rubio (UCF) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) def. Mikahil Sokolovskiy (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Eero Vasa (UCF) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Danny Kerznerman (UCF) def. Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Constantin Schmitz/Ewan Moore (TLN) vs. Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa (UCF) 4-4, unfinished
2. Alan Rubio/Enrique Paya (UCF) def. Hamish Stewart/Tyler Schick (TLN) 6-1
3. Danny Kerznerman/Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. Luis Erlenbusch/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,1,5,6,3)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Postgame MTEN: HC Mark Booras - 4/11/25
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