Thursday, April 17
Memphis, Tenn.
9:00 a.m.
Tulsa
vs
Temple
Photo by: Joshua Rogers
Tulsa Women’s Tennis to Face Temple in AAC First Round
4/16/2025 3:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. — The No. 4 seed Tulsa women's tennis team (16-7) will take on 13th-seeded Temple (7-12) in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship at Memphis' Leftwich Tennis Center on Thursday, April 17, at 9 a.m. Central.
Live Results: Click Here
Live Streams: TBD
Championship Final on ESPN+: Click Here
Tulsa's Probable Lineups (Based on Previous Match):
Doubles
1. #43 Maria Berlanga/Lily Hutchings (18-7 Overall, 12-6 Dual)
2. Ana Naranjo/Mariana Velasquez (25-4 Overall, 18-1 Dual)
3. Isabella Basson/Tayla Wilmot (8-6 Overall, 8-6 Dual)
Singles
1. #86 Maria Berlanga Bandera (23-7 Overall, 16-5 Dual)
2. Mariana Manyoma Velasquez (16-5 Overall, 13-3 Dual)
3. Lily Hutchings (19-11 Overall, 13-7 Dual)
4. Tayla Wilmot (13-14 Overall, 6-11 Dual)
5. Ana Naranjo Martinez (13-4 Overall, 11-2 Dual)
6. Erin McKenzie (15-11 Overall, 7-8 Dual)
Tulsa in Conference Championships
- The Golden Hurricane enter week's action seeking their fourth AAC title and ninth overall conference title, all of which have come under 20th-year Head Coach Dean Orford.
- Orford's squads have finished in the semifinal rounds or better in 17 of 18 conference tournaments played (there was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID).
- TU is currently 17-6 all-time in the AAC Championship and holds the best winning percentage in the tournament of any team (.739)
- Tulsa previously won The American in 2015, 2016 and 2018 for the most AAC titles of any team in history. Before that, the Hurricane won the C-USA Championship in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The 2025 Bracket
- The winner of Tulsa-Temple will take on the winner of No. 5 Wichita State and No. 12 East Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday at 12 p.m. Central.
- Taking the top seed in the field is 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic, who finished with a perfect 15-0 record during the regular season.
- Rice (16-5) took the second seed and Charlotte (20-4) was awarded the No. 3 seed.
Scouting the Temple Owls
- This will be just the sixth all-time meeting between the Tulsa and Temple women's teams.
- Tulsa is undefeated at 5-0 against the Owls, never dropping more than two points in a match. Last year's matchup in Tulsa ended in the Hurricane's favor, 4-1.
- The Owls finished last in the AAC this year at 7-12, earning the bottom seed of 13 in the championship.
- Leading the singles lineup for the Owls is Irmak Ozturk, who is 14-12 overall and 8-9 in dual matches.
- Ozturk and Nina Andreoni form the winningest doubles tandem for Temple, going 9-3 in the second and third positions.
Doubles Dominance
- As a group, Tulsa is enjoying one of its best doubles showings in recent memory.
- Of the Hurricane's 23 dual matches this season, TU has earned the doubles point 17 times.
- Tulsa grabbed the doubles point in 15 of 16 team victories.
- TU duos earned two major titles in the fall: the ITA Central Region Doubles Championship by seniors Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings and the AAC Doubles Championship by senior pair Ana Naranjo Martinez and Mariana Manyoma Velasquez.
- Berlanga and Hutchings have clinched the doubles point six times for TU this spring with Naranjo and Velasquez matching with six doubles clinches as well.
Tulsa in the ITA Rankings
- ITA Central Region-winning duo Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings stand as the 43th-ranked Division I duo according to the latest ITA Doubles Rankings.
- The seniors are 18-7 overall together this year and 12-6 in dual matches. They ranked as high as No. 18 in the Feb. 5 ITA rankings.
- Berlanga has been a consistent top-100 singles player in the country. She enters the AAC Championship ranked 86th, the highest individual singles ranking in the conference.
- Tuesday, April 22, will be the next team, singles and doubles rankings release by the ITA.
Seniors on All-Time TU Career Win Lists
- Maria Berlanga Bandera has 81 singles wins for 11th in TU history. She needs two more to pass Thalia Diaz-Barriga's (2005-09) 82 victories for 10th.
- Berlanga also has 76 career doubles wins entering the weekend's action, tied for No. 12 in program history with teammate Lily Hutchings and Jennifer DeSpain (1997-01).
- Ana Naranjo Martinez leads the current roster with 79 doubles victories, which ties for ninth in program history with Jana Sedivec (1998-02) and All-American Martina Okalova (2016-21).
Last Time Out
- Tulsa nabbed a 4-2 road win at Memphis to conclude the 2025 regular season.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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