TULSA, Okla. – No. 9-seeded South Florida rallied for a 4-3 win for the second consecutive day to join three of the top four seeds in the semifinal round of 2022 American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championship at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
 
South Florida stunned top-seeded and No. 19-ranked UCF by overcoming a 3-0 deficit with wins in the final four singles matches. The Bulls will face No. 4-seeded Memphis, itself a 4-3 winner against Tulane, with a trip to Saturday’s championship final at stake.
 
The other semifinal will pit No. 2-seeded SMU against No. 3 Tulsa. The Mustangs and Golden Hurricane both scored 4-1 wins in their respective quarterfinal matches Thursday.
 
In anticipation of unfavorable weather conditions in Tulsa Friday, the start time for the two semifinal matches has been moved to 8 a.m. CT/9 a.m. ET.
 
Complete coverage of The American Tennis Championships, including live scoring of each match, can be found on the conference’s Championship Central site. Live coverage of the women’s and men’s finals will be available on ESPN+.
 
 
SMU 4, Cincinnati 0
Records: SMU (15-8), Cincinnati (16-7)
 
No, 2-seeded SMU won three straight-set singles matches and claimed the doubles point to earn a 4-0 sweep against No. 7-seeded Cincinnati Thursday morning in the quarterfinal round of The American Championship.
 
Lexi Keberle and Nicole Petchey turned in wins in both singles and doubles for the Mustangs, who will face No. 3-seeded Tulsa in the semifinals.
 
Petchey paired with Claudia Bartolome for a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles win to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead and she registered the clinching point in singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5. Keberle joined Lana Mavor for a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles and took a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles.
 
SMU will make its sixth consecutive appearance in The American Championship semifinals as the Mustangs look for their first trip to the championship final since 2018.
 
 
Tulsa 4, Houston 1
Records: Tulsa (16-7), Houston (14-9)
 
Tulsa won at the top four singles positions as the Golden Hurricane topped Houston 4-1 Thursday in a quarterfinal match in The American Championship Thursday.
 
The Golden Hurricane, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, picked up its conference-record 15th win in The American Championship as Tulsa improved to 15-3 all-time in the bracket. Tulsa will face No. 2-seeded SMU Friday in a bid for a sixth trip to the championship final in seven years.
 
Tulsa had to overcome an early deficit against Houston as the Cougars claimed the doubles point with wins at the top two positions.
 
The Golden Hurricane countered quickly in singles as Laia Conde Monfort was a 6-3, 6-1 winner at No. 1 before Sura Poppe followed with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 2.
 
Houston players won three first sets in singles, but Tulsa was able to close the match out as Maria Berlanga won a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 decision at No. 3 before Valeryia Rozenkova ended it with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4.
 
 
Memphis 4, Tulane 3
Records: Memphis (18-5), Tulane (12-9)
 
Camila Romero’s win in a second-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles sent Memphis to the semifinal round of The American Championship for the first time since 2014 as the Tigers held off Tulane 4-3 in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday.
 
Romero scored a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory against Tulane’s Lahari Yelamanchili to break a 3-3 tie in a battle between the tournament’s No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.
 
The schools split the singles round, while Memphis took two of the three doubles sets, which provided the winning margin.
 
Camila Soares won in both singles and doubles for the fourth-seeded Tigers. Soares paired with Alisha Reayer for a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles and delivered a key 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 5 singles.
 
Tulane had tied the match at 3-3 after Kristen Borland won a three-set battle at No. 4 singles before Romero ended it for Memphis.
 
Memphis will face South Florida Friday as the Tigers look to reach the championship final for the first time.
 
 
South Florida 4, UCF 3
Records: South Florida (7-17), UCF (16-5)
 
Sierra Berry won a three-set decision at No. 2 singles to cap South Florida’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit and give the Bulls a 4-3 win against top-seeded UCF Thursday, sending the Bulls to the semifinal round of The American Championship.
 
UCF, which was looking for a third consecutive American Athletic Conference title, captured the doubles point and registered straight-set victories at No. 6 and No. 4 singles to build a convincing lead, but the Bulls won the first set in the remaining four singles matches to stay alive.
 
Amelie Boy put the Bulls on the board with a 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5 before Laura Pellicer followed with a 6-3, 7-5 decision at No. 3, making it 3-2.
 
South Florida’s Grace Schumacher outlasted No. 106-ranked Evgeniya Levashova at No. 1 singles to turn all eyes to the No. 2 court. Berry had claimed the first set against the Knights’ Noel Saidenova, but Saidenova rebounded for a 6-4 frame set to force a deciding set. After Berry held serve to build a 4-2 lead in the third, the players traded breaks the rest of the way as Berry closed out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision.
 
The win improved South Florida to 14-5 all-time in The American Championship and it ended UCF’s six-match winning streak in the tournament.
 
The Bulls will face Memphis Friday in a bid for a fifth appearance in the championship final.
 
 
 
2022 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 20-23 | Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Oklahoma
 

First Round | Wednesday, April 20
No. 7 Cincinnati 5, No. 10 Wichita State 1
No. 6 Houston 4, No. 11 East Carolina 0
No. 9 South Florida 4, No. 8 Temple 3
Quarterfinals | Thursday, April 21
No. 2 SMU 4, Cincinnati 0
No. 3 Tulsa 4, Houston 1
No. 4 Memphis 4, No. 5 Tulane 1
South Florida 4 vs. No. 1 UCF 3
Semifinals | Friday, April 22
Tulsa (16-7) vs. SMU (14-8)	3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
South Florida (7-16) vs. Memphis (18-5)	3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Final | Sunday, April 23 | ESPN+
Semifinal winners	5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT