From University of Chicago Athletics
A doubles sweep put the University of Chicago men's tennis team in control and the home team took the 6-3 result over visiting Kenyon College on Friday night.
The No. 6-ranked Maroons (4-0 record) defeated their second nationally-ranked opponent of the season. The No. 10-ranked Lords evened their record at 1-1 on the young season. It was UChicago's second-straight team win over Kenyon.
Doubles play swung firmly in UChicago's favor from the outset. Junior Sven Kranz and senior Gordon Zhang handily dispatched their opposition at No. 3 by a score of 8-1. Sophomore Peter Leung and freshman Charlie Pei had the closest doubles match at No. 2 and won 8-5. No. 1 doubles featured a rematch from the ITA Central Region Championships semifinal, and the result repeated itself as sophomores Nicolas Chua and David Liu once again triumphed, 8-4.
Pei was a quick winner at No. 4 singles, breezing through his match 6-0, 6-1. With a 4-1 lead in hand, the Maroons just needed one more to clinch the team win. Kranz provided it at No. 2 singles with scores of 7-6, 6-1. Kenyon won both of the three-set matches at No. 3 and No. 5. Liu provided the final team point with a 6-3, 6-1 win at the No. 6 spot.
"I thought we really came out ready to play in doubles and took the life out of them pretty early," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "Even with that 3-0 lead, we knew Kenyon wasn't ready to give up which proved to be true. Charlie's quick win was big because it put us so close and we knew someone was going to step up and get the fifth point and Sven did that. It's our first home win versus a top 10 team in many, many years, so we are proud of that. Last time Kenyon visited us in 2013, they beat us 9-0, so it felt good to defend our home courts. We will enjoy this one for a couple of hours and then turn our focus solely on Wisconsin-Whitewater tomorrow night."
UChicago 6, Kenyon 3
Singles
1. Sam Geier (KEN) def. Nicolas Chua (UC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Sven Kranz (UC) def. Robert Turlington (KEN) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
3. Michael Liu (KEN) def. Peter Leung (UC) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. Charlie Pei (UC) def. Nicholas Paolucci (KEN) 6-0, 6-1
5. Nick Fiaschetti (KEN) def. Luke Tsai (UC) 2-6, 7-6, 6-3
6. David Liu (UC) def. Mike Roberts (KEN) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. Nicolas Chua/David Liu (UC) def. Sam Geier/Tristan Kaye (KEN) 8-4
2. Peter Leung/Charlie Pei (UC) def. Nick Fiaschetti/Nicholas Paolucci (KEN) 8-5
3. Sven Kranz/Gordon Zhang (UC) def. Alex Rieger/Peter Hazlett (KEN) 8-1