St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis men's tennis team collected a 5-0 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over Luther College in the NCAA Championship second round match at Tao Tennis Center.
The Bears improve to 15-9 on the season and advance to the NCAA third round match tomorrow morning in the St. Louis regional final against No. 10 Denison at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday's win marks the 47th postseason win in program history as the Bears will look to punch their ticket to the Elite 8 for the 17th time in team history on Sunday.
WashU made the most of its opportunities in doubles play with big first serves and aggressive play at the net to set the tone early.
Abhi Ramireddy and Daniel Li pushed WashU ahead 1-0 following an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles, while Jared Phillips/ Gaurav Singh jumped ahead 7-0 before sealing the match 8-1 to give the Bears' a 2-0 advantage at No. 3 dubs.
Scott Yamamoto/Jeremy Ouyang closed out their match with a strong effort at No. 2 doubles, as they prevailed with an 8-4 victory for their 16th victory this spring season.
In singles play, the Bears needed just two wins to clinch the match to advance.
Singh was flawless at No. 4 singles, dropping just one game as he cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 decision to give WashU a 4-0 margin.
Moments later, Li finished off the match with solid play at No. 2 singles. Li fought back from an early deficit in the first set and took over the match with a dominant effort, winning 6-2, 6-0.
While the rest of the matches went as unfinished, the Bears were ahead at No. 3, 5, and 6 singles additionally before the match went official.
Sunday's match against Denison will be streamed live on PlaySight: https://web.playsight.com/facility/washington-university/home
Live results will also be available: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G_JmysMQYoFJCUYV9bVtVD4YGQAKKFLghz3l8a6tWKs/edit#gid=146330003
Results
Singles competition
1. Abhi Ramireddy (WASHUM) vs. Nyathi Motlojoa (LUTM) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
2. Daniel Li (WASHUM) def. Max Loen (LUTM) 6-2, 6-0
3. Luke Smith (WASHUM) vs. Luke Westholder (LUTM) 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
4. Gaurav Singh (WASHUM) def. Joaquim Fernandes (LUTM) 6-0, 6-1
5. Jared Phillips (WASHUM) vs. Dylan Wiemers (LUTM) 6-2, 4-1, unfinished
6. James Shaheen (WASHUM) vs. Eli Young (LUTM) 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Abhi Ramireddy/Daniel Li (WASHUM) def. Nyathi Motlojoa/Max Loen (LUTM) 8-2
2. Jeremy Ouyang/Scott Yamamoto (WASHUM) def. Francisco Navarrete/Luke Westholder (LUTM) 8-4
3. Jared Phillips/Gaurav Singh (WASHUM) def. Nando Melo/Joaquim Fernandes (LUTM) 8-1
Match Notes:
Luther College 18-10 WashU Men 15-9
