BURR RIDGE, Ill. – The University of Chicago men's tennis team snapped a three-match losing streak with a 5-2 victory over University of Detroit Mercy on Friday and a 7-2 win over DePauw University on Saturday.

The No. 28-ranked Maroons improved to 5-4. The Titans dropped to 2-7 and the Tigers fell to 4-2.

UChicago started the weekend against NCAA Division I opponent Detroit Mercy. The Maroons won two of three doubles matches to take the initial point and then four of the six singles contests. Junior Deepak Sabada and senior Zsolt Szabo both won their singles and doubles matches. Senior Krishna Ravella teamed up with Szabo to beat their No. 3 doubles opponents 8-0.

"It was a great match for the men," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "We needed a win to boost our confidence a bit after a tough weekend and we got it. Doubles were sharp and we were also tough in singles, putting the match away quickly with three solid wins."

Before the start of the Saturday matches against DePauw, the UChicago men's and women's tennis squads held a free clinic for adults and kids. A total of 178 fans were in attendance.

DePauw started strong with a pair of wins in doubles at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Szabo and Ravella won their No. 3 matchup 8-3. From there, it was all Maroons as the hosts were victorious in all six singles positions. Three of the matches went to a decisive third set and UChicago came out ahead each time. Szabo was once again a winner in both singles and doubles action.

"The men really stepped up tonight," Tee said. "Even without Sven Kranz due to injury, everyone stepped up into their new spots and delivered. We were 3-0 in three-set matches and Brian Sun won a gritty 6-4, 6-4 match that really got the team going. We will use the next couple weeks to get rested and healthy before we travel to California for dates with three nationally-ranked teams."

UChicago 7, DePauw 2
Singles
1. Deepak Sabada (UC) def. Ben Kopecky (DPUM) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3
2. Ankur Bhargava (UC) def. Sam Miles (DPUM) 2-6, 7-6, 6-2
3. Brian Sun (UC) def. Patrick Farrell (DPUM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Zsolt Szabo (UC) def. Alec Kaczkowski (DPUM) 7-6, 6-3
5. Max Hawkins (UC) def. Eric Bruynseels (DPUM) 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-2)
6. Gordon Zhang (UC) def. Nick Thompson (DPUM) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Ben Kopecky/Sam Miles (DPUM) def. Ankur Bhargava/Deepak Sabada (UC) 8-5
2. Eric Vannatta/Alec Kaczkowski (DPUM) def. Gordon Zhang/Max Hawkins (UC) 8-6
3. Zsolt Szabo/Krishna Ravella (UC) def. Patrick Farrell/Nick Thompson (DPUM) 8-3

UChicago 5, Detroit Mercy 2
Singles
1. Bobby Cawood (DETROIT) def. Sven Kranz (UC) 6-3, 3-0, retired
2. Deepak Sabada (UC) def. Patryk Koscielski (DETROIT) 6-2, 6-2
3. Ankur Bhargava (UC) def. Rafael Orantes (DETROIT) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 1-0 (10-2)
4. Ismail Kadyrov (DETROIT) def. Brian Sun (UC) 6-1, 7-5
5. Zsolt Szabo (UC) def. Chance Conley (DETROIT) 6-3, 6-3
6. Gordon Zhang (UC) def. Tanguy Crosnier (DETROIT) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Sven Kranz/Deepak Sabada (UC) def. Rafael Orantes/Chance Conley (DETROIT) 8-5
2. Patryk Koscielski/Bobby Cawood (DETROIT) def. Ankur Bhargava/Gordon Zhang (UC) 9-7
3. Zsolt Szabo/Krishna Ravella (UC) def. Matt White/Ismail Kadyrov (DETROIT) 8-0

NEXT MATCH:

• Monday, Mar. 24 – UChicago at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 4 PM (PT)