ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 13-ranked University of Chicago men's tennis team took an early lead after doubles, but No. 2-ranked Emory University rallied back late to edge out UChicago 5-4 on Saturday at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship semifinal.
The Maroons, who entered the weekend as the No. 5 seed, dropped to 15-5 on the season. The No. 1-seed Eagles ran their record to 15-6.
UChicago emerged from doubles with a 2-1 advantage thanks to strong efforts at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The tandem of freshman Luke Tsai and sophomore Max Hawkins won 8-3, and freshmen Nicolas Chua and David Liu won 8-5, respectively.
Singles play featured battles up and down the lineup. Three of the matches went to decisive third sets, and Emory came out on top twice to gain the clinching fifth team point. Freshman Peter Leung posted the top scores of the day, beating his opponent at the fourth position 6-1, 6-0. Chua also got a win at No. 1 with a third-set default – 5-7, 6-3, 2-0.
"I'm so proud of this group of guys for the way they competed today in a hostile environment," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "We kept our cool and didn't compromise our integrity throughout the entire match, but unfortunately, we came up just a bit short. We put ourselves in position to win and in the future, I know we will close out these matches by playing on our terms. We will need to have a short memory and also prepare our bodies for another tough match with Carnegie."
Emory 5, UChicago 4
Singles
1. Nicolas Chua (UC) def. Alex Ruderman (Emory) 5-7, 6-3, 2-0, default
2. Eric Halpern (Emory) def. Sven Kranz (UC) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-4
3. Rafe Mosetick (Emory) def. Deepak Sabada (UC) 6-1, 6-2
4. Peter Leung (UC) def. Ian Wagner (Emory) 6-1, 6-0
5. Josh Goodman (Emory) def. Luke Tsai (UC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
6. Aman Manji (EU) def. David Liu (UC) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles
1. Alex Ruderman/Ian Wagner (Emory) def. Deepak Sabada/Ankur Bhargava (UC) 8-2
2. Luke Tsai/Max Hawkins (UC) def. Eric Halpern/Aman Manji (Emory) 8-3
3. Nicolas Chua/David Liu (UC) def. Rafe Mosetick/David Omsky (Emory) 8-5
NEXT MATCH:
- Sunday, April 26 – UChicago vs. Carnegie Mellon University (Altamonte Springs, Fla.), 9 AM (ET)
