MASON, Ohio – The University of Chicago men's tennis team wrapped up their historic postseason run with a 5-3 loss to Washington University-St. Louis in the NCAA Division III Championship third-place match on Wednesday.
The No. 8-ranked Maroons conclude with a season record of 19-7 and a fourth-place showing at nationals. Men's tennis is now the second UChicago men's team to reach the NCAA Final Four in the modern era, alongside the 1996 soccer squad that took third place. The No. 5-ranked Bears finish at 22-6.
After WashU started the day with a win at No. 3 doubles, the top two doubles pairings were neck-and-neck. The Bears won again 9-7 at No. 2, but the senior duo of Deepak Sabada and Ankur Bhargava got UChicago on the board at the number-one spot, 8-6.
The Bears won at the fifth and sixth positions in singles, and the Maroons responded each time with a win of their own. Freshman Peter Leung took No. 4 by scores of 6-0, 6-4. At No. 1, freshman Nicolas Chua was down 3-5 in the decisive third set, but he came storming back to win the next four games and the match – 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. However, WashU picked up the clinching fifth point at No. 3 singles to end the match.
"Today was another battle, but unfortunately, we just couldn't pull it out," Head Coach Jay Tee said. "We competed incredibly hard all weekend and have nothing to be ashamed of. From September until today, we've worked so hard and accomplished so much that the only thing we can be is proud of our season. We established a culture of excellence where the goal is now to play for a national title every year. It's a lofty goal and it will take a lot of hard work, but now we can begin to see ourselves there and know we belong."
Washington-St. Louis 5, UChicago 3
Singles
1. Nicolas Chua (UC) def. John Carswell (WU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2. Sven Kranz (UC) vs. Ross Putterman (WU) 5-7, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
3. Jeremy Bush (WU) def. Deepak Sabada (UC) 6-4, 7-5
4. Peter Leung (UC) def. Tyler Kratky (WU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Johnny Wu (WU) def. Luke Tsai (UC) 6-1, 6-3
6. Kevin Chu (WU) def. David Liu (UC) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles
1. Deepak Sabada/Ankur Bhargava (UC) def. Jeremy Bush/Ross Putterman (WU) 8-6
2. Kevin Chu/Jason Haugen (WU) def. Luke Tsai/Max Hawkins (UC) 9-7
3. Josh Cogan/Tyler Kratky (WU) def. Nicolas Chua/David Liu (UC) 8-3
NEXT MATCH:
- Thursday, May 21 – UChicago at NCAA Singles Championship (Mason, Ohio), 11 AM (ET)
