INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Chicago will send four student-athletes to represent the men's tennis program at the NCAA DIII Individual National Championships in Claremont, California from May 23-26. The full list of individuals competing for the National Championship at the end of the month can be found HERE.

Alexander Ekstrand will play Noah Laber from Middlebury on Friday at 9 AM PT, and with a win, he will advance to play the winner of Eric Kuo from WashU and the #3 overall seed, Vuk Vuksanovic from Tufts, at 2 PM PT. Emil Grantcharov will play the #6 overall seed, Jordan Theron from Sewanee, in the opening round of the tournament at 9 AM PT on Friday. With a win, he will advance to play the winner of Javier Gonzalez from Tufts and Caleb Wilkins from Chapman at 1 PM PT.

In the double portion of the tournament, Andrei Leonov and Pat Otero earned the #2 overall seed in the tournament. The duo will open their run at a title on Friday afternoon at 3 PM PT against the duo of Gage Gohl and Tyler Haddorf from Gustavus Adolphus. With a win, Leonov and Otero will advance to Saturday where they will play the winner of Aiden Drover-Mattinen and Andy Zhu from Pomona-Pitzer and Caleb Settle and Brandon Vu from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 2 PM PT.

Alexander Ekstrand earns a spot in the 2025 NCAA Singles National Championships after entering the field as the #6 player in NCAA Division III. The 1st-Team All-UAA selection enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-5 singles record. The sophomore has tallied five wins over nationally-ranked opponents and a 7-3 record against regionally-ranked foes, including a pair of wins over the #6 player in DIII from Denison and the #10 player in DIII from Case Western. 

Emil Grantcharov will join Ekstrand in the singles tournament as the #13 ranked singles player in NCAA Division III. The All-UAA honoree will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 15-8 record in singles. Grantcharov has tallied a record of 5-3 against nationally-ranked opponents this seaosn including wins over the #4 player from Carnegie Mellon, the #9 player from John Hopkins, and the #12 player from Gustavus Adolphus. Grantcharov qualified for the 2024 Singles National Championships, but he fell in a tough three-set match to a player from George Fox in the opening round.

Andrei Leonov and Pat Otero will represent the Maroons in the doubles portion of the NCAA Tournament. The duo enters the NCAA Tournament ranked as the #2 doubles team in the nation with a 14-7 record as a doubles pairing this season. The duo has played 12 matches against the current top-25 doubles pairs in the country with, and they have brought home three wins over top-10 doubles pairings, topping #8 Johns Hopkins twice and #9 WashU once. Leonov and Otero qualified for the 2024 Doubles National Championships, but they fell in a three-set thriller to the eventual runners-up from Sewanee in the opening round.

Grantcharov and Ekstrand will look to become the first UChicago singles players to win a match in the Individual National Championships since Christian Alshon in 2022. Leonov and Otero will also look to become the first UChicago doubles team to win a match in the Individual National Championships since Alshon and Derek Hsieh teamed up to win their opening round match in 2022.

INDIVIDUALS SCHEDULE:

Friday, May 23
* 9 AM PT - Alexander Ekstrand vs. Noah Laber (Middlebury)
* 9 AM PT - Emil Grantcharov vs. #6 Jordan Theron (Sewanee)
* 1 PM PT - Singles Round of 16
* 3 PM PT - Andrei Leonov / Pat Otero vs. Gohl / Haddorf (Gustavus Adolphus)

Saturday, May 24
* 11 AM PT - Singles Quarterfinals
* 2 PM PT - Doubles Quarterfinals

Sunday, May 25
* 10 AM PT - Singles Semifinals
* 2 PM PT - Doubles Semifinals

Monday, May 26
* 10 AM PT - Singles National Championship
* 12 PM PT - Doubles National Championship