From University of Chicago Athletics
In a showdown between conference rivals that came down to the final match, the University of Chicago men's tennis team topped Washington University – St. Louis 5-4 in the third-place match of the 2018 ITA National Division III Men's Team Indoor Championships on Sunday.
The No. 9-ranked Maroons improved to 9-1 and dropped the No. 6-ranked Bears to 3-2.
WashU took a 2-1 lead after doubles, with the No. 1 UChicago tandem of senior Nicolas Chua and sophomore Ninan Kumar earning the 8-5 win.
When singles play commenced, senior Luke Tsai continued his hot streak with a quick 6-3, 6-1 rout at the No. 2 spot. Tsai has now won 16-straight singles matches. Sophomore Erik Kerrigan was the next finisher with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 3. A pair of matches went to three sets, with first-year Jeremy Yuan rallying at No. 4 for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
With the team score tied 4-4, the deciding match would be No. 6 singles. Junior Charlie Pei came through with a clutch effort to emerge with a 7-6, 7-6 triumph.
"The win today was a total team effort and a great display of physical and mental toughness," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "We may have had a little hangover after the battle with Emory the day before, but once we got our legs under us, we competed at a high level. For us to drop the doubles lead and come back against a very good opponent was fantastic to see. We have plenty of work to do and adjustments to make, but we're building a good foundation as we move towards the meat of our season."
UChicago 5, Washington-St. Louis 4
Singles
1. Johnny Wu (WU) def. Nicolas Chua (UC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2. Luke Tsai (UC) def. Benjamin vander Sman (WU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Erik Kerrigan (UC) def. J.J. Kroot (WU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Jeremy Yuan (UC) def. Daniel Li (WU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Bernardo Neves (WU) def. Alejandro Rodriguez (UC) 7-5, 6-2
6. Charlie Pei (UC) def. Koki Takabatake (WU) 7-6, 7-6
Doubles
1. Nicolas Chua/Ninan Kumar (UC) def. Konrad Kozlowski/Daniel Li (WU) 8-5
2. Mark Wu/Bernardo Neves (WU) def. Charlie Pei/Jeremy Yuan (UC) 8-6
3. Benjamin vander Sman/J.J. Kroot (WU) def. Erik Kerrigan/Abhin Sharma (UC) 8-5