MAYFIELD, Ohio – The University of Chicago men's tennis team secured an 8-1 victory against Washington University – St. Louis in the semifinals of the ITA Division III National Team Indoor Championship.

With the win, the Maroons (7-0 record) advance to Sunday morning's championship match against host Case Western Reserve University.

UChicago entered the weekend as the No. 6 seed while WashU was the No. 7 seed in the eight-team field, with each side coming off 5-4 wins the previous day.

Doubles was decided by the narrowest of margins on all three courts. But it was the Maroons who came through in the clutch moments and captured all three by matching 8-7 final scores.

With the sizable advantage in hand, UChicago was able to clinch the win early with a trio of straight-set wins from junior Christian Alshon at No. 2, sophomore Derek Hsieh at No. 3 and senior Shramay Dhawan at No. 6. Junior Arjun Asokumar and senior Alex Guzhva later prevailed in three sets at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively.

UChicago has now won six-straight matchups against conference rival WashU.

"For the second day in-a-row, the team stared adversity in the eye and didn't blink," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "In doubles, WashU was serving for all three doubles matches at 7-6, 7-6 and 7-5. Looking at a potential 3-0 deficit, the men stepped up and played their best when it mattered most. Singles were more of the same, with the guys playing some really gutsy tennis with the a trip to the finals on the line. We know we've got a serious challenge on our hands tomorrow playing a good team in front of a hostile crowd, but I like the way we've fought through adversity all weekend."

UChicago 8, WashU 1
Singles
1. Arjun Asokumar (UC) def. Abhi Ramireddy (WU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6
2. Christian Alshon (UC) def. Daniel Li (WU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Derek Hsieh (UC) def. Gaurav Singh (WU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Alex Guzhva (UC) def. Luke Smith (WU) 2-6, 7-6, 1-0
5. Lucas Guy (WU) def. Andrei Leonov (UC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6. Shramay Dhawan (UC) def. Jeremy Ouyang (WU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. Derek Hsieh/Christian Alshon (UC) def. Abhi Ramireddy/Daniel Li (WU) 8-7 (5)
2. Arjun Asokumar/Andrei Leonov (UC) def. Scott Yamamoto/Jeremy Ouyang (WU) 8-7
3. Bailey Forgus/Biren Reddy (UC) def. Jared Phillips/Gaurav Singh (WU) 8-7 (3)

NEXT MATCH:

• Sunday, Feb. 27 @ 8:00 AM (ET) – UChicago vs. Case Western Reserve University (at Mayfield, Ohio)