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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The top-ranked University of Chicago men’s tennis team kicked off its ITA Central Region Tournament with a perfect day on the courts, finishing 6-0 overall in doubles and 8-0 overall in singles.

The Maroons rolled through doubles play to open the day with six wins as all three UChicago teams reached the Round of 16. The freshman duo of Chase Kelley and Jesse Yang entered the tournament as the #6 overall seed, but the duo looked unstoppable on Friday, dropping just one game in their two matches. Kelley and Yang earned an 8-0 bagel against Earlham and picked up an 8-1 win over Kenyon in the opening day.

Alexander Ekstrand and Gopal Koduri entered the weekend as the #5 overall seed. Ekstrand and Koduri rolled to an 8-2 win over Baldwin Wallace before taking down Lake Forest 8-4. Heyang Li and Timothy Nguyen rounded out the doubles play for the Maroons with an 8-5 win over North Central and an 8-2 victory over Augustana.

In singles play, Ekstrand entered as the #2 overall seed, and he showed why on the opening day. The senior dropped just three total games in two wins, defeating Otterbein (6-0, 6-1) and Illinois Tech (6-1, 6-1) to reach the Round of 16. The other top-8 seed for the Maroons, Yang fought off a tough battle from Wooster in the opening round with a 6-2, 7-6(8-6) win. He then rolled past Wabash 6-1, 6-2 to join Ekstrand in the Round of 16.

Matthew Liew and Ajer Sher rounded out singles play for UChicago with two more perfect 2-0 days. Liew dominated in the opening round with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Earlham, and he pulled out a tough second-round match with a 7-6(7-2), 6-2 win over Augustana. Sher capped off the day with two more straight-set wins as he picked up a 6-4, 6-0 win over Illinois Wesleyan and a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kenyon.

The Maroons will return to the court on Saturday to begin the Round of 16 of doubles play, the Round of 16 of singles play in the A draw, and the Round of 32 of singles play in the B draw.

 

FRIDAY SINGLES MATCHES:
Round of 64
* A Flight – #2 Alexander Ekstrand (UChicago) d. Tyler Thomas (Otterbein) (6-0, 6-1)
* A Flight – #4 Jesse Yang (UChicago) d. Anthony VanOyen (Wooster) (6-2, 7-6(8-6))
* A Flight – #9 Matthew Liew (UChicago) d. Dev Agrawal (Earlham) (6-0, 6-1)
* A Flight – #9 Ajer Sher (UChicago) d. Umar Bajwa (Illinois Wesleyan) (6-4, 6-0)

Round of 32

* A Flight – #2 Alexander Ekstrand (UChicago) d. Edvard Veres Bergsten (Illinois Tech) (6-1, 6-1)

* A Flight – #4 Jesse Yang (UChicago) d. Samuel Soto Garcia (Wabash) (6-1, 6-2)

* A Flight – #9 Matthew Liew (UChicago) d. Santiago Diaz (Augustana-IL) (7-6(7-2), 6-2)

* A Flight – #9 Ajer Sher (UChicago) d. Jay Dixit (Kenyon) (6-3, 6-2)

FRIDAY DOUBLES MATCHES:
Round of 64
* #9 Heyang Li / Timothy Nguyen (UChicago) d. Rafael Lessa / Andres Valverde (North Central-IL) (8-5)
* #6 Chase Kelley / Jesse Yang (UChicago) d. Francisco Herrera / Alonso Rivera (Earlham) (8-0)
* #5 Alexander Ekstrand / Gopal Koduri (UChicago) d. Vincent Cannata / Tyler Fenton (Baldwin Wallace) (8-2)

Round of 32

* #9 Heyang Li / Timothy Nguyen (UChicago) d. Aingeru Garcia Acebo / Jorge Marcelo Escribano (Augustana-IL) (8-2)

* #6 Chase Kelley / Jesse Yang (UChicago) d. Stylianos Papamichael / Aditya Shah (Kenyon) (8-1)

* #5 Alexander Ekstrand / Gopal Koduri (UChicago) d. Dikshan Chhikara / Tim Pasea (Lake Forest) (8-4)

SATURDAY SINGLES MATCHES:
Round of 32
* B Flight – Heyang Li (UChicago) vs. Paul Castleman (DePauw)
* B Flight – Timothy Nguyen (UChicago) vs. Viktor Ronnberg (DePauw)

Round of 16

* 12:30 PM ET – A Flight – #9 Matthew Liew (UChicago) vs. #6 George Kosseifi (Case Western)

* 1 PM ET – A Flight – #4 Jesse Yang (UChicago) vs. #9 Aidan Borosko (Denison)

* 1 PM ET – A Flight – #9 Ajer Sher (UChicago) vs. #3 Santiago Salazar Garza (Case Western)

* 1 PM ET – A Flight – #2 Alexander Ekstrand (UChicago) vs. #9 Rowan Matorin (Case Western)

SATURDAY DOUBLES MATCHES:
Round of 16
* #9 Heyang Li / Timothy Nguyen (UChicago) vs. #1 Trey Lambright / Derek Shiffer (Case Western)
* #6 Chase Kelley / Jesse Yang (UChicago) vs. #9 Peter Berns / Aidan Borosko (Denison)
* #5 Alexander Ekstrand / Gopal Koduri (UChicago) vs. #9 Nicholas Meyers / Chika Nwaozuzu (Denison)