Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2019 – Sophomore Daniel Li fought back after losing the first set to grind out a three-set victory at No. 3 singles to clinch a 5-4 win for the No. 9-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's tennis team over No. 10 Carnegie Mellon University Friday in the opening match of the 2019 ITA National Division III Team Indoor Championship in Cleveland.
Li dropped the first set 6-3 to Ray Boppana, before rallying to win 6-4 and 7-6 (7-5). He has won four-straight singles matches and improved to 7-2 this season.
Match-by-Match Results
Doubles:
1. #6 Daniel Levine/Chaz Downing (CMUM) def. Konrad Kozlowski/Luke McClelland (WASHUM) 8-2
2. Nicholas Calzolano/Ray Boppana (CMUM) def. Sam Komis/Benjamin van der Sman (WASHUM) 8-7
3. Ethan Hillis/Bernardo Neves (WASHUM) def. Yannick Bloem/Vayum Arora (CMUM) 8-3
Singles:
1. #6 Ethan Hillis (WASHUM) def. #9 Daniel Levine (CMUM) 6-3, 6-4
2. #32 Bernardo Neves (WASHUM) def. #7 Chaz Downing (CMUM) 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Daniel Li (WASHUM) def. Ray Boppana (CMUM) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Robert Levin (CMUM) def. Benjamin van der Sman (WASHUM) 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Clark Safran (CMUM) def. J.J. Kroot (WASHUM) 7-6, 7-5
6. Konrad Kozlowski (WASHUM) def. Sam Gibson (CMUM) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
Notes:
• WashU trailed after doubles play for the third time this season
• The Bears are 1-1 against ranked teams
• Kozlowski improved to 10-1 in singles, and has won five-straight at No. 6
• Neves moved past Charlie Howard into 18th on the WashU all-time wins list (111)
Up Next:
WashU takes on the winner of No. 3 University of Chicago and No. 18 Case Western Reserve University Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the semifinals.
