Cleveland, Ohio – The Washington University in St. Louis men's tennis team collected a huge 5-4 victory over No. 2 seeded Emory University on Friday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoor Championships in Cleveland.
With the victory, the No. 7 seeded Bears improve to 2-1 on the season and in addition, earn a victory over the 2021 NCAA National Champions.
The Bears advance on to the semifinals and will matchup with Chicago at 9:00 a.m. EST tomorrow morning.
First-year John Fakouri won the deciding match at No. 6 singles to clinch the victory for the Bears in a three-set thriller that lasted two hours and 44 minutes.
Fakouri battled back from a set down to win the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6, and then sealed the deal with all-around great play in the third, claiming the set 6-2.
WashU trailed 2-1 after doubles play, as the Bears picked up a point at No. 3 doubles following an 8-4 victory from Jared Phillips and Gaurav Singh.
In singles play, Luke Smith tied up the match at 2-2, cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles.
Following suit at No. 5 singles, Jared Phillips rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the second set, closing out the match winning the final three games for a 6-1, 7-5 match victory.
Smith and Phillips have been flawless for the Bears this spring, combining for a 6-0 record, as neither player has yet to drop a set.
Abhi Ramireddy, ranked 41st nationally in singles, pulled out a grueling three-set victory at No. 1 singles, defeating Antonio Mora, the No. 35 nationally ranked player, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
The junior improved to 3-0 in 2022 and clawed his way back down 4-3 in the third, as he held serve and broke Mora to go up 5-4, before serving out the match to put the Bears ahead 4-3.
Fakouri's win at No. 6 singles secured the Bears' spot into the ITA National Indoors semifinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Results
Doubles:
1. Andrew Esses/ Sahil Raina (Emory) def. Abhi Ramireddy/Daniel Li (WashU) 8-6
2. Ryan Glanville/ Antonio Mora (Emory) def. Scott Yamamoto/ Jeremy Ouyang (WashU) 8-4
3. Jared Phillips/ Gaurav Singh (WashU) def. Nolan Shah/ Sujay Sharma (Emory) 8-4
Singles:
1. Ramireddy (WashU) def. Mora (Emory) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Esses (Emory) def. Li (WashU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Shah (Emory) def. Singh (WashU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Luke Smith (WashU) def. Sharma (Emory) 6-2, 6-2
5. Jared Phillips (WashU) def. Brandon Cohen (Emory) 6-1, 7-5
6. John Fakouri (WashU) def. Pushkar Shinde (Emory) 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 6
