From University of Chicago Athletics
For the second consecutive year, the University of Chicago women's tennis team captured the ITA Division III National Team Indoor Championship on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Sunday's showdown featured the top two teams in the nation, as well as a rematch of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship final. This time around, the No. 2-ranked Maroons (8-0 record) proved to be too strong across the lineup for the No. 1-ranked Athenas (4-1 record).
Doubles played out very closely in the three matches. While CMS squeaked out a tiebreaker win at No. 3, UChicago prevailed in the other two bouts. The No. 1 duo of Sylwia Mikos/Shianna Guo won 8-6, while the No. 2 tandem of Claudia Ng/Perene Wang picked up an 8-5 victory.
The early stages of singles saw the two programs split first sets, 3-3. Nicole Geller (No. 3), Brooke Pedersen (No. 4) and Claudia Ng (No. 6) went on to win in straight sets to give the Maroons the team points they needed to clinch the title. The remaining three bouts went unfinished.
It marked the second ITA indoor title in program history for UChicago. The 2022 squad previously defeated Emory University 5-4.
"Our play all weekend, and the championship today, was all about the team's resilience and resolve," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "They had every opportunity to make the excuse that finals start on Monday or that they were tired or stressed or any number of other things, but that's not what this team is about and that's why their success isn't a fluke. From the first day, they were determined to outwork the other team and to keep fighting no matter the circumstance, and they did just that. In the finals, we did a good job of not making this about revenge, a championship, or a goal. Rather, we just wanted to stick together and play the ball, not the opponent or moment, which we did. I couldn't be happier for the team or more proud to share the courts with them this weekend."
UChicago 5, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 1
Singles
1. Sylwia Mikos (UC) vs. Alisha Chulani (CMS) 4-6, 6-1, 1-2, unfinished
2. Shianna Guo (UC) vs. Audrey Yoon (CMS) 0-6, 4-5, unfinished
3. Nicole Geller (UC) def. Katherine Wurster (CMS) 6-3, 6-1
4. Brooke Pedersen (UC) def. Ella Brissett (CMS) 7-5, 6-4
5. Miranda Yuan (UC) vs. Sena Selby (CMS) 2-6, 5-4, unfinished
6. Claudia Ng (UC) def. Nikolina Batoshvili (CMS) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Sylwia Mikos/Shianna Guo (UC) def. Alisha Chulani/Nikolina Batoshvili (CMS) 8-6
2. Claudia Ng/Perene Wang (UC) def. Olivia Almy/Audrey Yoon (CMS) 8-5
3. Katherine Wurster/Sena Selby (CMS) def. Nicole Geller/Lauren Khou (UC) 8-7 (7-3)