Orlando, Fla. – The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis men's tennis team fell 5-2 on Monday to No. 4 Middlebury in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tennis Championship in Orlando.
WashU concludes the 2022 season with a record of 16-10, earning 22 straight NCAA appearances and 15 straight trips to the quarterfinals.
"This group of young men handled adversity and injuries as well as any team I have coached in my time at WashU," said Head Coach Roger Follmer. "I wish our three seniors all the best in their next chapters. We are looking forward to next year and coming back to Florida in 2023."
The Bears were in an uphill battle from the start on Monday, falling in all three doubles matches as they trailed 3-0.
The No. 13 nationally ranked pair of Abhi Ramireddy/Daniel Li were edged 8-7 at No. 1 doubles, while Jeremy Ouyang/Scott Yamamoto and Jared Phillips/Gaurav Singh dropped 8-5 and 8-4 decisions at No. 2 and 3 doubles, respectively.
In singles action, Ramireddy had a tough matchup with the No. 1 nationally ranked singles player. The junior battled it out in the first set, but was edged in a tiebreak 7-6 (5) before falling 6-1 in the second set.
Senior Daniel Li collected a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles to put the Bears on the scoreboard, as he improved his mark at No. 2 singles this spring to 14-3.
Luke Smith fell in straight sets at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-1, but Jared Phillips gave the Bears their second match win of the day following a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles.
Phillips concludes the year with a 16-2 mark in singles action, winning 12 matches at the No. 5 singles position.
Both Gaurav Singh and James Shaheen's matches went officially unfinished as they both led in the second set of their respective matches after dropping the opening set.
Li and Ramireddy will compete in the individual doubles' championships in Orlando from May 27-29. Ramireddy will also compete in the singles portion beginning ing on Friday.
#4 Middlebury 5, #7 Washington Univ. in St. Louis 2
Singles competition
1. #1 Stan Morris (MIDDM) def. #41 Abhi Ramireddy (WASHU) 7-6, 6-1
2. Daniel Li (WASHU) def. Noah Laber (MIDDM) 6-2, 6-1
3. Aidan Harris (MIDDM) def. Luke Smith (WASHU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Zachary Hilty (MIDDM) vs. #49 Gaurav Singh (WASHU) 6-4, 1-4, unfinished
5. Jared Phillips (WASHU) def. Neel Epstein (MIDDM) 6-4, 6-2
6. Zihao Yuan (MIDDM) vs. James Shaheen (WASHU) 6-4, 2-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Stan Morris/David Vilys (MIDDM) def. #13 Daniel Li/Abhi Ramireddy (WASHU) 8-7
2. #8 Aidan Harris/Noah Laber (MIDDM) def. Jeremy Ouyang/Scott Yamamoto (WASHU)8-5
3. Neel Epstein/Zachary Hilty (MIDDM) def. Jared Phillips/Gaurav Singh (WASHU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Washington Univ. in St. Louis 16-10; National ranking #7; Regional ranking #4 Middlebury 21-2; National ranking #4; Regional ranking #2
NCAA Division III Men's Tennis National Championship Quarterfinal
