Tulsa Comes up Short in AAC Women's Championship Final

Sunday, April 20

Memphis, Tenn.

2:00 p.m.

Tulsa

Memphis

Photo by: Ben Naylor/American Athletic Conference

Tulsa Comes up Short in AAC Women's Championship Final

4/20/2025 6:09:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The fourth seed Tulsa women's tennis team gave everything they had in search of their fourth American Athletic Conference title but came up shy, 4-2, to Memphis (10-13), who took advantage of their home-court advantage and played aggressively to win the championship as the No. 6 seed.

The Golden Hurricane enjoyed a magical run in the 2025 tournament that included a 4-0 shutout over Temple (7-13) in the first round, a 4-3 revenge win over Wichita State (13-10) in the quarterfinal and a 4-3 marathon victory in the semifinal over the tournament's No. 1 seed Florida Atlantic (16-1), who was previously the only undefeated women's team in the nation. TU exits the tournament one win shy of the title and 20 victories on the season, dropping to 19-8 overall.

Tulsa will keep an eye on the NCAA Tennis Selection Show, which will air on NCAA.com on Monday, April 28.

No match came easy for Tulsa as the Hurricane battled a hostile environment and 15 mph winds with gusts that reached up to 30 mph. TU dropped a rare doubles point and fell in tough matches in the first, fourth and sixth singles positions while prevailing in the second and third courts.

Memphis' Alice Amandola and Clemence Thouard clinched the doubles point in the three-spot in a 6-2 decision, leaving Tulsa seniors Ana Naranjo Martinez and Mariana Manyoma Velasquez unfinished down 4-3 in the No. 2 spot.

To start singles play, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead early with a straight-set winner atop the lineup. Tulsa responded in kind with back-to-back wins by Velasquez and senior Lily Hutchings in the second and third positions, respectively.

Hutchings was the first to score for Tulsa at Singles No. 3. She erased a 5-2 deficit in the first set and forced a tiebreaker at 6-6, which she won 7-3 to gain a set lead on Alyssa Richter. Hutchings was the only TU player to win the first set. In set two, Richter gained a 3-1 lead before Hutchings won the next five games to close out court No. 3 for the Hurricane, moving her to 21-12 overall and 15-8 in dual matches.

Velasquez dropped her first set 6-1 before putting together 6-4 scores in the second and third stanzas to capture the No. 2 slot for Tulsa to even up the dual match at two points all. She snapped 2-2 deadlocks in the second and third sets against Sofia Mykhailets to improve to 19-6 overall and 16-4 in dual-match action.

The momentum unfortunately ran out for Tulsa as the wind continued and Memphis connected on smart swings in the right moments. The Tigers would eventually close out two-set endurance contests in the sixth (7-6 (7-5), 7-5) position and fourth line (7-5, 7-5), which was where the match was clinched and ended by Memphis' Emily Meyer.

Naranjo left her No. 5 match unfinished down late in the third set at 1-6, 6-3, 4-5. Memphis' Leonie Moeller was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player following the match.

Singles
1. Leonie Moeller (MEM) def. #86 Maria Berlanga Bandera (TU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Mariana Manyoma Velasquez (TU) def. Sofia Mykhailets (MEM) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Lily Hutchings (TU) def. Alyssa Richter (MEM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
4. Emily Meyer (MEM) def. Tayla Wilmot (TU) 7-5, 7-5
5. Ana Naranjo Martinez (TU) vs. Alice Amendola (MEM) 1-6, 6-3, 4-5, unfinished
6. Clemence Thouard (MEM) def. Erin McKenzie (TU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5

Doubles
1. Mykhailets/Richter (MEM) def. #43 Berlanga/Hutchings (TU) 6-3
2. Naranjo/Velasquez (TU) vs. Meyer/Moeller (MEM) 3-4, unfinished
3. Amendola/Thouard (MEM) def. Basson/Wilmot (TU) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,2,6,4)