The Emory University men's tennis team saw its season come to a close Monday afternoon, falling to the University of Chicago in the quarterfinals of NCAA Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, FL.
The defeat puts an end to the Eagles 2021-22 season where Emory finished with an overall record of 10-11. The top-ranked Maroons advance to the national semifinals with the 5-0 win and will face the winner of Tufts University or Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Tuesday morning.
"Our team faced our fair share of adversity throughout the season," Head Coach John Browning said following the match. "I was proud of this group of players because they never gave in to the temptation to give in. They overcame a lot of roadblocks to get to the quarterfinals."
The Eagles fell behind following the doubles portion of the match as the Maroons swept all three matches. UC opened the afternoon with an 8-3 decision over senior Antonio Mora and sophomore Sujay Sharma before adding an 8-4 win over senior Sahil Raina and sophomore Ryan Glanville on court three and an 8-5 decision over senior Andrew Esses and sophomore Nolan Shah on court one.
After staging come-from-behind wins in the second and third rounds, Emory struggled to do so again on Monday as the team could not mount much momentum in singles as they battled the strong Maroon opposition and blistering Florida sun.
The decisive points came at the third and fourth positions as sophomore Brandon Cohen and Shah fell in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-3. At the end of the match, Esses was the lone Eagle ahead as he led by a set at the second position 6-4, 1-4.
With the team competition reaching the end, several Eagles now turn their attention to the NCAA Individual Championships as Mora will take part in the 32-player singles draw while Esses and Shah will be taking part in the 16-team doubles tournament. Opening rounds are set to get underway on Friday, May 27th in Orlando.