From University of Chicago Athletics

For the second-straight season, the University of Chicago women's tennis team will be playing for the University Athletic Association (UAA) title following a 6-3 win over Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday afternoon.

In the eight-team draw at the UAA Championship in Florida, the Maroons (17-3 record) were the No. 3 seed while the Tartans (18-4) were the No. 2 seed. The two sides met earlier in the year on March 4 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championships. CMU won that matchup 5-0.

This time, the results flipped UChicago's way. The Maroons grabbed the 2-1 advantage at the conclusion of doubles. The No. 1 tandem of sophomore Marjorie Antohi and first-year Claire Handa emerged 8-6, and the No. 3 pairing of sophomores Alyssa Rudin and Estefania Navarro won 8-4.

UChicago was on the brink at 4-2, thanks to singles victories at No. 1 by Handa and at No. 5 by Rudin. It was first-year Catherine Xu who would deliver the clincher in three sets at No. 3 (6-3, 3-6, 6-0). Antohi provided the final team point in three sets at her No. 2 position (5-7, 7-5, 10-2).

"I've said it all year and I'll say it again: this is one gritty team," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "We lost to this same Carnegie team a little over a month ago, and then came back today and completely changed the story. Our team fights so hard and competes at such a high level that we always feel we're going to win because it takes so much to beat us. We will enjoy this one tonight and come back ready for another challenge and opportunity tomorrow."

The Maroons will take on top-seed Emory University on Sunday morning in the UAA title match. The Eagles have won five-straight conference championships since UChicago last won the UAA in 2012.