TULSA, Okla. – No. 6 seed Tulsa rode home court all the way to the final and beyond, as the Golden Hurricane captured the 2026 American Conference Men’s Tennis Championship with a 4-1 win over No. 1 seed Rice on Sunday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. It was the first American championship triumph in men’s tennis in the third trip to the tournament final for the Golden Hurricane, as Tulsa won four matches in four days that included wins over No. 3 Memphis (4-3), No. 2 Charlotte (4-2) and No. 1 Rice.

Nikita Volonski from Tulsa was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after finishing the week 4-0 in doubles play at the second court with partner Timothy Carlsson Segar and 3-0 at number one singles. Volonski clinched the championship point on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win over Rice’s Petro Kuzmenok at the first singles court.

The Tulsa duo of Volonski and Carlsson Seger earned a 6-4 decision, and Victor Tosetto and Gus Tettamble logged a 6-3 win at the third court to notch the doubles point and give the Golden Hurricane a 1-0 lead in the championship match. Rice squared the match at 1-1 after Kabeer Kapasi won in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 over Ruben Fernandez at number four singles.

Tulsa would claim the final three points of the contest to secure the team win. Carlsson Seger downed Rice’s Santiago Navarro 6-3, 6-4 at the second singles court and Tosetto defeated Noey Do 6-1, 6-2 to take a commanding 3-1 match lead.

Volonski was ahead of Kuzmenok 5-2 in the second set and had multiple chances on match point before Kuzmenok claimed four straight points to force the deciding tiebreaker at 6-6. Volonski raced out to 4-2 edge in the tiebreaker and never looked back on his way to cementing the team championship for Tulsa.
 
2026 AMERICAN CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 16-19 | Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Oklahoma
 

First Round | Thursday, April 16
Match 1: No. 9 Tulane 4, No. 8 UAB 1
Match 2: No. 7 Florida Atlantic 4, No. 10 Temple 0
Match 3: No. 6 Tulsa 4, No. 11 UTSA 0
Quarterfinals | Friday, April 17
Match 4: No. 1 Rice 4, No. 9 Tulane 1
Match 5: No. 4 South Florida 4, No. 5 Wichita State 0
Match 6: No. 2 Charlotte 4, No. 7 Florida Atlantic 1
Match 7: No. 6 Tulsa 4, No. 3 Memphis 3
Semifinals | Saturday, April 18
Match 8: No. 1 Rice 4, No. 4 South Florida 1
Match 9: No. 6 Tulsa 4, No. 2 Charlotte 2
Final | Sunday, April 19 | ESPN+
No. 6 Tulsa 4, No. 1 Rice 1

Most Outstanding Player
Nikita Volonski, Tulsa