ST. PETER, Minn. – The ninth-ranked University of Chicago men's tennis team nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the season in Saturday's Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Division III Men's Team Indoor Championships, but top-ranked Emory University edged the Maroons late for a 5-4 win.
The Maroons (8-1) will compete for third place Sunday, taking on Washington-St. Louis in an 8 a.m. CT contest at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
"Tough result, obviously, but there were a ton of positives to take away from the match," Head Coach Jay Tee said. "We fought like dogs at every spot and went toe to toe with the No. 1-ranked team in the country and were just a few points from getting the win.
"Although we lost, I think we will take away a lot from this match and hopefully some extra motivation to work even harder to improve our game for a hopeful rematch down the road."
UChicago took wins at the No. 2, 4, and 6 singles spots, as senior Luke Tsai pushed his winning streak to 15 at No. 2 singles, rebounding from a 4-6 opening set loss to take the next two, 6-3, 6-3. Sophomore Erik Kerrigan won in straight sets at No. 3 and junior Charlie Pei won handily in straight sets at the No. 6 slot.
The Maroons No. 3 doubles team of Abhin Sharmin and Kerrigan also came up victorious, winning 8-5.
NEXT MATCH:
- Sunday, Feb. 25: UChicago vs. Washington-St. Louis, 8 a.m. CT (Baseline Tennis Center)
#1 EMORY 5, #9 UCHICAGO 4
Singles
1. Jonathan Jemison (EUM) def. Nicolas Chua (UC) 6-4, 6-2
2. Luke Tsai (UCM) def. Alec Josepher (EUM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Erik Kerrigan (UC) def. Adrien Bouchet (EUM) 7-5, 7-5
4. Hayden Cassone (EUM) def. Jeremy Yuan (UC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
5. Andrew Harrington (EUM) def. Rodriguez, Alejandro (UCM) 7-6, 6-4
6. Charlie Pei (UC) def. Scott Rubinstein (EUM) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. Scott Rubinstein/James Spaulding (EUM) def. Nicolas Chua/ Ninan Kumar (UC) 8-3
2. Adrien Bouchet/Max Renke (EUM) def. Tyler Raclin/Jeremy Yuan (UC) 8-4
3. Abhin Sharma/Erik Kerrigan (UC) def. Jonathan Jemison/Hayden Cassone (EUM) 8-5
