CHICAGO – In a meeting of familiar postseason foes, the University of Chicago men's tennis team came up big in singles play to defeat Gustavus Adolphus College 5-2 in the NCAA Division III Championship regional final on Saturday.

The No. 1-ranked Maroons (19-1 record) will make their fifth all-time appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals, with each occurring since 2015. The No. 16-ranked Gusties concluded their season with a 25-11 record.

Saturday was another addition to the series of postseason showdowns between UChicago and Gustavus Adolphus. The two squads have played each other in the NCAA third round a total of five times since the 2015 season, with UChicago holding a 4-1 edge.

When the Maroons and the Gusties met back on April 3 this year, UChicago came away the winners 8-1 thanks in part to a doubles sweep.

But GAC reversed that result on Saturday at the Stagg Tennis Courts. The visitors came out strong in doubles and pulled out a pair of narrow wins – 8-6 at No. 2 and 8-7 at No. 1. The Maroons got on the board with an 8-4 victory by the No. 3 duo of junior Sachin Das and senior Alex Guzhva.

Needing to win four of the six singles bouts to advance, UChicago shook off the deficit in short order. The hosts took the first set on all six courts to get on the right track. Guzhva proved unstoppable at No. 4 as he nearly secured a shutout (6-1, 6-0). Junior Christian Alshon was next off the court with a definitive 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles. Then junior Marek Michulka gave UChicago a 4-2 lead with his straight-sets win at No. 6 by scores of 6-3, 6-1.

The remaining three matches all went to a deciding third set. It was Derek Hsieh who delivered the clincher as he won his No. 2 match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The remaining two matches went unfinished.

UChicago 5, Gustavus Adolphus 2
Singles
1. Christian Alshon (UC) def. Indraneel Raut (GAC) 6-1, 6-2
2. Derek Hsieh (UC) def. Nick Aney (GAC) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
3. Sachin Das (UC) vs. Daniel Fouchier (GAC) 6-2, 2-6, 4-3, unfinished
4. Alex Guzhva (UC) def. Alex Budde (GAC) 6-1, 6-0
5. Andrei Leonov (UC) vs. Marco Siviero (GAC) 7-6 (7-0), 5-7, unfinished
6. Marek Michulka (UC) def. Josh Christensen (GAC) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. Nick Aney/Alex Budde (GAC) def. Christian Alshon/Derek Hsieh (UC) 8-7 (7-5)
2. Daniel Fouchier/Sourabh Terakanambi (GAC) def. Arjun Asokumar/Andrei Leonov (UC) 8-6
3. Sachin Das/Alex Guzhva (UC) def. Drew Elofson/Marco Siviero (GAC) 8-4

NEXT MATCH:

• Monday, May 23 – UChicago vs. Trinity University (Texas) or Emory University (at Orlando, Fla.)