CHICAGO -- The University of Chicago men's tennis team opened the first day of the 2025 ITA Cup on Thursday with a win and a loss in the doubles portion of the bracket.

Christian Liew and Shrikeshav Murugesan picked up an opening round win over a team from Trinity (TX) to advance to the ITA Cup Quarterfinals. Liew and Murugesan earned the #2 overall seed after bringing home the Central Region title, but they struggled in the opening set, falling quickly 6-2. However, the duo did not hesitate to bounce back as they stormed out of the gates in the second set to win 6-2 before dusting their opponents in the tiebreak, 10-2.

Heyang Li and Albert Mackey became the first unseeded team to reach the Central Region doubles finals earlier this fall, and they faced another tough draw in the ITA Cup, taking on the top overall seed from Gustavus Adolphus in the opening round. Li and Mackey opened the match hot with a 4-3 lead of the Gusties' duo, but Gustavus Adolphus was able to get a big break of serve at four-all to win the opening set 6-4. In the second set, the Gusties continued to roll and won the second set 6-2 to win their opening round match.

Both doubles teams will return to action on Friday afternoon at 1:30 PM ET. Liew and Murugesan will compete in the quarterfinals, and Mackey and Li move to the consolation side of the bracket. * Round of 16 - #1 Gage Gohl / Tyler Haddorff (Gustavus Adolphus) d. Heyang Li / Albert Mackey (6-4, 6-2)
* Round of 16 - #2 Christian Liew / Shrikeshav Murugesan d. Ethan Flores / Roshin Kamath (Trinity-TX) (2-6, 6-2, 10-2)

FRIDAY MATCHES:

* 1:30 PM ET - Quarterfinals - #2 Christian Liew / Shrikeshav Murugesan vs. Matthew Johnstone / Ajay Kartik (Emory)
* 1:30 PM ET - Consolation Quarterfinals - Heyang Li / Albert Mackey vs. Artem Manov / Charles Rush (Whitman)