CHICAGO – The University of Chicago men's tennis team made its return to the court a successful one by defeating North Central College by scores of 9-0 and 8-1 on Saturday.

The Maroons (2-0 record) made their 2021 debut on the Stagg Courts – their last competitive match was back on March 7, 2020. The Cardinals dropped to 6-4.

UChicago and NCC played each other twice on the day in the double-dual format. The hosts started off with a complete sweep, winning all nine matches in straight sets. First-year Derek Hsieh took his No. 4 singles match with an immaculate score of 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Sachin Das, senior Jeremy Yuan and first-year Bradley Yu were all winners in both singles and doubles action.

The afternoon matchup resulted in an 8-1 score line, with North Central taking one singles match. Senior Alejandro Rodriguez and sophomore Bailey Forgus only surrendered one game in their singles wins with matching scores of 6-1, 6-0. Rodriguez, sophomore Marek Michulka and sophomore Julius Kim garnered singles and doubles wins in the lineup.

"Today was incredibly exciting – it was the first time the team had competed in over a year, but the guys did a great job across the board," Rodriguez said. "We brought the energy early to sweep doubles in both matches, and we did a good job of carrying that energy and intensity directly into singles. The guys competed hard and played for each other, and it was great to see some of the freshmen get their first college win. We are a team with huge goals this season and today was a great first step in getting to where we want to be."

UChicago 9, North Central 0
Singles
1. Sachin Das (UCM) def. Javier Suarez (NCC) 7-5, 6-3
2. Jeremy Yuan (UCM) def. Guillermo Gonzalez (NCC) 6-1, 6-2
3. Alex Guzhva (UCM) def. Ramon Vilarroig (NCC) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Derek Hsieh (UCM) def. Andy Hinch (NCC) 6-0, 6-0
5. Alejandro Rodriguez (UCM) def. Morgan Red (NCC) 6-1, 6-3
6. Bradley Yu (UCM) def. Steven Mears (NCC) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Jeremy Yuan/Joshua Xu (UCM) def. Guillermo Gonzalez/Andy Hinch (NCC) 8-6
2. Marek Michulka/Bradley Yu (UCM) def. Javier Suarez/Ramon Vilarroig (NCC) 8-3
3. Sachin Das/Bailey Forgus (UCM) def. Morgan Red/Justin Howes (NCC) 8-3

UChicago 8, North Central 1
Singles
1. Joshua Xu (UCM) def. Guillermo Gonzalez (NCC) 6-4, 6-3
2. Marek Michulka (UCM) def. Steven Mears (NCC) 6-1, 6-1
3. Alejandro Rodriguez (UCM) def. Daniel Urraca (NCC) 6-1, 6-0
4. Julius Kim (UCM) def. Justin Howes (NCC) 6-1, 6-1
5. Bailey Forgus (UCM) def. Lucas Pindak (NCC) 6-1, 6-0
6. Marco Davila (NCC) def. Peyton Dooley (UCM) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Marek Michulka/Sachin Das (UCM) def. Morgan Red/Justin Howes (NCC) 8-3
2. Julius Kim/Derek Hsieh (UCM) def. Steven Mears/Lucas Pindak (NCC) 8-2
3. Alex Guzhva/Alejandro Rodriguez (UCM) def. Daniel Urraca/Marco Davila (NCC) 8-1

NEXT MATCH:

• Monday, April 5 @ 3:00 PM – Chicago State University at UChicago