From University of Chicago Athletics
Senior Day came to a satisfying conclusion for the University of Chicago men's tennis team as the home team beat Washington University-St. Louis 8-1 on Sunday.
The No. 5-ranked Maroons (13-3 record) defeated their 11th nationally-ranked opponent of the season. The No. 13-ranked Bears (11-3) saw their nine-match win streak come to a halt.
With rain falling in Chicago throughout the day, the Maroons played their Senior Day match at the XS Tennis indoor facility. The team recognized its three seniors – Bobby Adusumilli, William Leddy and Gordon Zhang – before the match. During their four years with the program, UChicago has tallied a team record of 57-24 (.704 winning percentage) with an NCAA postseason bid in 2015.
UChicago came into the day with a 1-5 doubles record in its previous two matches. But the home side shook off that pattern and won all three doubles matches to start Sunday on a high note. The No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Nicolas Chua and David Liu jumped out to a 5-0 lead and cruised to an 8-3 win. The No. 3 doubles tandem of sophomore Luke Tsai and junior Max Hawkins took their match 8-5. The big comeback came from No. 2 doubles. Freshman Charlie Pei and sophomore Peter Leung trailed 4-1 at one point before roaring back to win seven of the next eight games, 8-5.
Liu put UChicago within one point of clinching the win when he was the first done in singles. The sophomore captured his match in straight sets 7-5, 6-2. However, four of the remaining five matches ended up going to the three-set limit. But ultimately, the Maroons prevailed almost across the board. Leung earned the clinching fifth team point at No. 5 singles with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory. WashU won the next match at No. 2 singles, but UChicago finished off the remaining three matches with Chua at No. 1, junior Sven Kranz at No. 4 and Tsai at No. 6.
UChicago 8, Washington-St. Louis 1
Singles
1. Nicolas Chua (UC) def. John Carswell (WU) 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4
2. Johnny Wu (WU) def. Charlie Pei (UC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
3. David Liu (UC) def. Tyler Kratky (WU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Sven Kranz (UC) def. Jeremy Bush (WU) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3
5. Peter Leung (UC) def. Jason Haugen (WU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Luke Tsai (UC) def. Jake Klein (WU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Nicolas Chua/David Liu (UC) def. John Carswell/Josh Cogan (WU) 8-3
2. Charlie Pei/Peter Leung (UC) def. Jason Haugen/Konrad Kozlowski (WU) 8-5
3. Luke Tsai/Max Hawkins (UC) def. Jeremy Bush/Tyler Kratky (WU) 8-5