The No. 4-ranked Emory men's tennis team saw its bid for a fourth straight ITA National Indoor title come up short on Sunday as it dropped a hard-fought verdict to No. 3 Chicago in the finals of the event. The Eagles saw their spring record dip to 4-2 following a 5-3 setback to the Maroons who improved to 9-0.
Chicago captured the opening two points of the match, registering victories at Nos. 2 and 1, respectively. Emory recorded its initial point at third doubles when sophomore Hayden Cassone and freshman Antonio Mora came away with an 8-7 (9-7) triumph over Joshua Xu and Charlie Pei, upping their record to 4-1 on the year.
After Chicago extended its lead to 3-1 after opening singles play with a victory at No. 6, the Eagles knotted the score at 3-3 following wins by senior Adrien Bouchet at No. 3 and classmate Jonathan Jemison at No. 1. Bouchet bettered Pei in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, ro raise his season slate to 8-2, while Jemison bettered Erik Kerrigan, 6-2, 6-4, to move to 11-2 on the campaign. However, Chicago drew to within one point of clinching after Jeremy Yuan defeated Cassone in three sets at No. 2. The Maroons then sealed the outcome at five when Alex Guzhva came out on top over freshman Andrew Esses in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Mora's match at No. 4 against Alejandro Rodriguez went unfinished as the teams played to decision.
Emory returns to action on March 9 when it hosts Trinity University (TX) in a scheduled 11:00 am start.