ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Looking to punch their ticket to their third straight NCAA D-III national title match, No. 3 University of Chicago would have to go through No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer in order to get there. Things looked bleak as the Sagehens took a 4-0 lead, but the Maroons mounted a historic comeback to win 5-4 and move one win away from their first team title.

RESULT
No. 3 UChicago – 5
No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer – 4

HOW IT HAPPENED

• No. 3 University of Chicago (22-1) was unable to grab a single point in doubles play which put them in quite the hole against No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer (20-6). The teams of Lin/O. Mikos and Khou/Vesely came the closest, but their 6-8 losses weren't enough to prevent the Sagehens from entering singles play needing just two points to take the match.
  • Rena Lin/Oliwia Mikos fall to Rha/Ye 6-8
  • Sylwia Mikos/Shianna Guo fall to Markey/Zhou 4-8
  • Lauren Khou/Nika Vesely fall to Coleman/Poor 6-8
• The mood went from bad to dire as Pomona-Pitzer went up 4-0 after a win at No. 4 singles but that's when one of the biggest moments in team history started to unfold. 4-0 became 4-1 with a Sylwia Mikos win at No. 2 singles and two more points headed the Maroons way thanks to wins from Lin and Vesely, the latter of which had to earn it in three sets. Biria was able to even the match up with her victory in the sixth singles spot which left the battle at number five to determine who would advance to the final game of the season. It took over four hours thanks to weather delays and court availability, but Guo completed a comeback that hadn't been seen on the NCAA D-III women's side since at least 2008 with a 6-4, 7-5 victory to hand the Maroons the improbable 5-4 match win.
  • No. 1 Singles: Rena Lin defeats Zhou 7-6, 6-3
  • No. 2 Singles: Sylwia Mikos defeats Rha 6-4, 6-1
  • No. 3 Singles: Nika Vesely defeats Kanefu 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
  • No. 4 Singles: Brooke Pedersen falls to Markey 4-6, 1-6
  • No. 5 Singles: Shianna Guo defeats Bazua Vazque 6-4, 7-5
  • No. 6 Singles: Sarena Biria defeats Ye 6-3, 6-1

CHICAGO COMMENTS

• "First, a huge credit to Pomona-Pitzer for a well-played and hard-fought match. They're a team we always enjoying competing against because they're well coached, are great sportswomen, and both teams always bring the best out in each other on the court. The team talked all week about playing like champions and being gritty, relentless competitors, and we put that on display today when it mattered most. It looked bleak for a while, but we never lost the faith. Nika's match was the turning point for us, willing her way back from 1-6 1-3 to force a third and extend the match. At that point, you could feel the energy in the building shift, and we saw a path to five points. Rena and Sylwia's wins also turned the tide as the finish line began to be within reach. For Sarena to step into the moment and knock off a very accomplished senior was huge for her and the team. With a match tied 4-4 there's no one I trust more than Shianna and she once again proved why she's our rock when things get tough. Just a complete team effort 1-14." - Head coach Jay Tee

WHO'S ON DECK
The Maroon's last match of 2024 will be for the biggest prize of them all. They'll take on Wesleyan University, the 2019 title holder, for the NCAA D-III National Championship on Thursday starting at 12:00 pm.

For up-to-the-minute University of Chicago Maroons news, visit www.athletics.uchicago.edu. You can also follow us on Twitter @uchicagoath and @uchicagoathletics on Instagram.