CLEVELAND – In a matchup of conference rivals, the University of Chicago men's tennis team came away with a 7-2 victory against Washington University-St. Louis in the semifinals of the ITA Division III National Team Indoor Championship on Saturday.

The No. 5-ranked Maroons (8-0) advanced to the ITA indoor final for the second-consecutive year, where they will play No. 2-ranked Emory University. The No. 4-ranked Bears dropped to 2-2 on the season.

The eight-team field features four teams from the University Athletic Association (UAA), making the UChicago vs. Washington-St. Louis contest an early season preview before the teams meet up again in April. Doubles was a close affair throughout as all three matches were decided by two games. The Maroons held sway at the first (8-6) and third (9-7) positions.

UChicago took the first three results in singles to clinch the team victory, courtesy of junior David Liu at No. 1, junior Luke Tsai at No. 4 and freshman Erik Kerrigan at No. 5. The second and third positions went to three-set super tiebreakers, with junior Nicolas Chua pulling away with the win at No. 2. Freshman Ninan Kumar wrapped up the day with a victory at No. 6.

"Today's win was very meaningful for us because it came against a program that we really respect and one that has historically gotten the best of us," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "To get a win like this in such a big moment shows how our own program is growing and improving. We have a great opportunity to make history tomorrow, but we have a fierce opponent standing in our way. I believe we have the personnel to get it done, but we will have to get out there and get it done on the court."

UChicago 7, Washington-St. Louis 2
Singles
1. David Liu (UC) def. Johnny Wu (WASHU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Nicolas Chua (UC) def. Jason Haugen (WASHU) 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 10-4
3. John Carswell (WASHU) def Charlie Pei (UC) 5-7, 7-5, 10-2
4. Luke Tsai (UC) def. Radha Vishnubhotla (WASHU) 6-0, 6-2
5. Erik Kerrigan (UC) def. Bernardo Neves (WASHU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Ninan Kumar (UC) def. Robin Engel (WASHU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. Ninan Kumar/Erik Kerrigan (UC) def. Jason Haugen/Konrad Kozlowski (WASHU) 8-6
2. Jeremy Bush/J.J. Kroot (WASHU) def. Tyler Raclin/Max Hawkins (UC) 9-7
3. Bobby Bethke/Charlie Pei (UC) def. Bernardo Neves/Johnny Wu (WASHU) 9-7

NEXT MATCH:

• Sunday, Feb. 26 @ 8:00 AM (ET) – UChicago vs. Emory University (ITA Indoor Nationals / Cleveland, Ohio)