ORLANDO – Since 2015, the University of Chicago men's tennis team has made deep postseason runs on a regular basis. The Maroons have advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals five times out of six NCAA appearances in that time span.
No. 1-ranked UChicago (21-1 record) looked to clear that semifinals hurdle on Tuesday morning in a high-powered matchup with No. 3-ranked Tufts University (20-3 record). The back-and-forth battle went the distance, and the Maroons emerged victorious 5-4 to reach the NCAA title match for the first time in program history.
UChicago encountered significant adversity along the way. For only the third time in 22 matches, the Maroons were trailing after doubles play. Tufts captured the No. 2 and No. 3 slots, while the duo of junior Christian Alshon and sophomore Derek Hsieh countered with an 8-6 UChicago win at No. 1.
With little margin for error, the Maroons embarked on their comeback bid in singles. They accomplished it thanks to four-straight set wins. Hsieh put away his opponent 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 3 position. Senior Alex Guzhva secured a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 5 and senior Shramay Dhawan grabbed the No. 6 match by scores of 6-4, 6-3. Alshon provided the clincher at No. 1 singles (6-1, 7-6) as he served out the match in the tiebreaker.
UChicago will next face off against conference foe Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday morning in the NCAA national championship final.
UChicago 5, Tufts 4
Singles
1. Christian Alshon (UC) def. Isaac Gorelik (TUFTS) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Rishabh Sharda (TUFTS) def. Arjun Asokumar (UC) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
3. Derek Hsieh (UC) def. Vuk Vuksanovic (TUFTS) 7-5, 6-2
4. Paris Pentousis (TUFTS) def. Sachin Das (UC) 7-5, 6-1
5. Alex Guzhva (UC) def. Derin Acaroglu (TUFTS) 6-2, 6-3
6. Shramay Dhawan (UC) def. Josh Belandres (TUFTS) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Christian Alshon/Derek Hsieh (UC) def. Josh Belandres/Rishabh Sharda (TUFTS) 8-6
2. Isaac Gorelik/Paris Pentousis (TUFTS) def. Arjun Asokumar/Andrei Leonov (UC) 8-5
3. Derin Acaroglu/Niko Hereford (TUFTS) def. Sachin Das/Alex Guzhva (UC) 8-3
NEXT MATCH:
- Wednesday, May 25 @ 10:00 AM (ET) – UChicago vs. Case Western Reserve University (at Orlando, Fla.)
