CHICAGO, Ill. – The Gustavus men’s tennis team fell to host University of Chicago, the No. 1-ranked team in Division III, on Saturday in the NCAA region championship by a score of 5-2, finishing the season 25-11 overall.
Gustavus, ranked No. 16 in Division III, started the match with the first doubles point as Daniel Fouchier (Jr., Nootdorp, Netherlands) and Sourabh Terakanambi (Jr., Apple Valley) won 8-6 at No. 2. Drew Elofson (Sr., Saint Peter) and Marco Siviero (Fy., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil) fell 8-4 at No. 3 to tie the match 1-1 before Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester) and Alex Budde (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) came out on top in a close 8-7 victory at No. 1, giving the Gusties a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.
Chicago made its comeback in singles play, claiming Nos. 1, 4, and 6 in straight sets. After falling behind in the first set 6-1, Aney won his second set 6-3 at No. 2 to force a third set breaker, but Chicago secured the match with a 6-3 win. Fouchier and Siviero forced third set breakers at Nos. 3 and 5, but went unfinished.
Singles
| 1. Alshon, Christian (UCM) def. Indraneel Raut (GACM) 6-1, 6-2 |
| 2. Hsieh, Derek (UCM) def. Nick Aney (GACM) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 3. Das, Sachin (UCM) vs. Daniel Fouchier (GACM) 6-2, 2-6, 4-3, unfinished |
| 4. Guzhva, Alex (UCM) def. Alex Budde (GACM) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 5. Leonov, Andrei (UCM) vs. Marco Siviero (GACM) 7-6, 5-7, unfinished |
| 6. Michulka, Marek (UCM) def. Josh Christensen (GACM) 6-3, 6-1 |
Doubles
| 1. Nick Aney/Alex Budde (GACM) def. Alshon, Christian/Hsieh, Derek (UCM) 8-7 |
| 2. Daniel Fouchier/Sourabh Terakanambi (GACM) def. Asokumar, Arjun/Leonov, Andrei (UCM) 8-6 |
| 3. Das, Sachin/Guzhva, Alex (UCM) def. Drew Elofson/Marco Siviero (GACM) 8-4 |
Aney and Budde will continue play as partners at the NCAA Doubles Championships, while Indraneel Raut (Sr., Oshkosh, Wis.) will compete in the NCAA Singles Championships. The championships are held May 27-29 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.