Rice University Athletics
Saturday, April 18
Tulsa, Okla.
12 PM
Rice University
4
vs
1
South Florida
Photo by: Evert Nelson/American Athletic Conference
No. 1 Rice Downs South Florida, Returns to Championship Match
4/18/2026 5:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – No. 1 seed Rice defeated No. 4 seed South Florida 4-1 to advance to its second straight American Conference Championship match.
Rice secured its 20th doubles point of the season to take an early lead. Yair Sarouk and Kabeer Kapasi opened doubles with a 6-1 win over Ettore Danesi and Guglielmo Verdese. South Florida evened the field when Tommy Czaplinski and Rafael Botran fell 6-2 to Hugo Car and Timeo Gaillard. Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 win over Francisco Llanes and James Newton.
South Florida tied the match at 1-1 when Verdese defeated Gabriel Porras 6-3, 6-3 on court five. Rice responded by taking control the rest of the way. Navarro earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Elijah Cham, and Botran secured a three-set victory (6-3, 5-7, 6-3) over Stepan Mruzek.
For the second time this championship, Noey Do clinched the match, defeating Llanes 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
When play was halted, Kuzmenok led 4-3 in the third set after splitting the first two sets 7-6, 5-7. Kapasi also led in the third, 2-1, after set scores of 5-7, 7-5.
Last season, the Owls defeated South Florida 4-3 to advance to the championship, where they went on to win their first American Conference title.
Rice will face No. 6 seed Tulsa in the championship at noon Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) def. F. Llanes/J. Newton (USF) 7-6
Y. Sarouk/K. Kapasi (RICE) def. E. Danesi/G. Verdese (USF) 6-1
H. Car/Y. Gaillard (USF) def. T. Czaplinski/R. Botran (RICE) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
P. Kuzmenok (RICE) vs H. Car (USF) 7-6, 5-7, 4-3 uf
S. Navarro (RICE) def. E. Cham (USF) 6-4, 6-4
R. Botran (RICE) def. S. Mruzek (USF) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
K. Kapasi (RICE) vs A. Cuellar (USF) 5-7, 7-5, 2-1 uf
G. Verdese (USF) def. G. Porras (RICE) 6-3, 6-3
N. Do (RICE) def. F. Llanes (USF) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 6
Rice secured its 20th doubles point of the season to take an early lead. Yair Sarouk and Kabeer Kapasi opened doubles with a 6-1 win over Ettore Danesi and Guglielmo Verdese. South Florida evened the field when Tommy Czaplinski and Rafael Botran fell 6-2 to Hugo Car and Timeo Gaillard. Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 win over Francisco Llanes and James Newton.
South Florida tied the match at 1-1 when Verdese defeated Gabriel Porras 6-3, 6-3 on court five. Rice responded by taking control the rest of the way. Navarro earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Elijah Cham, and Botran secured a three-set victory (6-3, 5-7, 6-3) over Stepan Mruzek.
For the second time this championship, Noey Do clinched the match, defeating Llanes 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
When play was halted, Kuzmenok led 4-3 in the third set after splitting the first two sets 7-6, 5-7. Kapasi also led in the third, 2-1, after set scores of 5-7, 7-5.
Last season, the Owls defeated South Florida 4-3 to advance to the championship, where they went on to win their first American Conference title.
Rice will face No. 6 seed Tulsa in the championship at noon Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) def. F. Llanes/J. Newton (USF) 7-6
Y. Sarouk/K. Kapasi (RICE) def. E. Danesi/G. Verdese (USF) 6-1
H. Car/Y. Gaillard (USF) def. T. Czaplinski/R. Botran (RICE) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
P. Kuzmenok (RICE) vs H. Car (USF) 7-6, 5-7, 4-3 uf
S. Navarro (RICE) def. E. Cham (USF) 6-4, 6-4
R. Botran (RICE) def. S. Mruzek (USF) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
K. Kapasi (RICE) vs A. Cuellar (USF) 5-7, 7-5, 2-1 uf
G. Verdese (USF) def. G. Porras (RICE) 6-3, 6-3
N. Do (RICE) def. F. Llanes (USF) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 6
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
1234
Hugo Car / 0 [USF]
673UF
754UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Eijah Cham / 0 [USF]
44
66
#3 Singles Match
123
Stepan Mruzek / 0 [USF]
373
656
#4 Singles Match
1234
Agustin Cuellar / 0 [USF]
761UF
572UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Gughi Verdese / 0 [USF]
66
33
#6 Singles Match
123
Toto Llanes / 0 [USF]
645
267
Order of Finish:
2,3,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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