ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL – The University of Rochester men's tennis team opened play at the 2026 University Athletic Association (UAA) Men's Tennis Championship with a 4-0 loss to the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded University of Chicago Maroons on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park.
The Maroons swept doubles play and then earned wins at No. 4, 5 and 2 singles to wrap up the match and advance to the UAA Championship Semifinals. With the win, No. 1 Chicago moves to 16-3 on the year and will face 5th-seeded Emory in the Championship Semifinals, while the 'Jackets drop to 6-11 with the loss and move to the Consolation Semifinals, where they'll face fourth-seeded WashU.
Alexander and Markus Ekstrand got things started in doubles play for the Maroons, as the 7th-ranked doubles pair in the Central Region topped
Ethan Samora and
Alan Wang, 6-2, at No. 1 doubles.
At No. 3 doubles, Jack Wong and Robert Zhang secured the doubles point with a 6-1 win at against
Surya Rajamani and
Andy Liu. Shrikeshav Murugesan and Gopal Koduri were up 5-3 at No. 2 doubles over
Josh Chu and
Aiden Swartz when the doubles point was officially clinched.
In singles play, Michael Choi topped Samora at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-0, while Ajer Sher defeated
Tony Xu at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1.
Then Emil Grantcharov, the No. 6-ranked singles player in NCAA Division III, clinched the win for Chicago, topping Wang at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-1.
In the unfinished matches, Swartz battled No. 31-ranked Alexander Ekstrand at No. 3 singles, with Ekstrand taking the first set, 7-5, while
Josh Chu dropped the opening game to No. 39-ranked Christian Liew, 6-4, at No. 6 singles.
At No. 1 singles, Liu had dropped the opening set to No. 17-ranked Murugesan, 6-2, but was all tied up at two in the second set.
The Yellowjackets will now face No. 4-seeded WashU in the Consolation Semifinals on Friday, April 24, at 12:30 p.m. in Altamonte Springs, FL.
