ST. PETER, Minn. – A familiar postseason opponent matched up with the University of Chicago men's tennis team on Saturday morning, as the Maroons lost a close 5-4 decision to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III National Team Indoor Championship.
The No. 4-ranked Maroons (5-1 record) and the No. 2-ranked Stags (9-0) have played each other three times in the past four years of the NCAA postseason. On Saturday, the foes came in as the third and second seeds, respectively, in the eight-team ITA indoor tournament.
C-M-S threatened to go up 3-0 after doubles, after capturing wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. However, the No. 1 duo of senior Erik Kerrigan and junior Jeremy Yuan prevailed in a tiebreaker 8-7 to halve the deficit.
Singles split evenly with three victories for each team. The middle of the Maroon lineup came through clutch. Sophomore Alex Guzhva was the first match done at No. 5 with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph. Yuan prevailed at No. 4 with scores of 6-3, 7-5. First-year Sachin Das rallied from a one-set deficit to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5, UChicago 4
Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Joshua Xu (UC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Erik Kerrigan (UC) 7-5, 6-4
3. Sachin Das (UC) def. Nic Meister (CMS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4. Jeremy Yuan (UC) def. Ian Freer (CMS) 6-3, 7-5
5. Alex Guzhva (UC) def. Robert Liu (CMS) 6-4, 6-1
6. Daniel Park (CMS) def. Alejandro Rodriguez (UC) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. Erik Kerrigan/Jeremy Yuan (UC) def. Ian Freer/Nikolai Parodi (CMS) 8-7
2. Jack Katzman/Robert Liu (CMS) def. Sachin Das/Joshua Xu (UC) 8-6
3. Nic Meister/Daniel Park (CMS) def. Tyler Raclin/Julius Kim (UC) 8-2
NEXT MATCH:
- Sunday, Feb. 23 – UChicago vs. Brandeis University (at St. Peter, Minn.)
