#1 Men's Tennis Battles #6 Bowdoin in National Quarterfinals on Tuesday

CHICAGO -- The top-ranked University of Chicago men's tennis team will continue its NCAA Tournament run on Tuesday as the Maroons travel to the Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the National Championships. UChicago will take on #6 Bowdoin in the National Quarterfinals at 2 PM ET on Tuesday, May 19.

#1 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NOTES:

• UChicago wrapped up the regular season with an 20-3 record overall after taking down #38 Luther (4-1) and #10 Kenyon (4-1) to win the Hyde Park Regional.

• The Maroons won their fourth UAA title in program history with a 4-1 win over Case Western.

• UChicago have been sitting in the top spot in the ITA rankings for three weeks the first time since February 12, 2025.

• The Maroons finished second in the ITA Indoor National Championships with wins over #6 Emory and #1 Denison before falling to #4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the championship match.

• The Maroons have been ranked in the top-5 of the ITA rankings for 28 consecutive polls, trailing only Claremont-Mudd-Scripps who has been ranked in the top-5 for 30 consecutive polls.

Ajer Sher leads the team with an 22-7 record in singles play this season.

Emil Grantcharov sits at #9 and

Shrikeshav Murugesan came in at #15 in the latest ITA NCAA Division III rankings. Grantcharov is 16-7 on the season, and Murugesan comes in at 12-5 overall.

• Murugesan also leads the team in doubles wins this season wtih a 17-10 record overall. He is 7-1 this season at the #2 doubles position.

Alexander Ekstrand and

Christian Liew have been near unstoppable this season with 18-3 and 15-4 record in singles. Ekstrand is currently ranked #26 and Liew is ranked #43 in the ITA NCAA Division III rankings.

• Murugesan, Grantchatov, and Ekstrand all earned a berth to the singles draw of the 2026 Individual National Championships, beginning on Saturday, May 23.

• Liew and

** **Murugesan won the ITA Central Regional this fall to lock up ITA Doubles All-American honors, and they are ranked #22 in NCAA Division III.

• The doubles team of

** **Alexander Ekstrand and

Markus Ekstrand is ranked #17 overall in the country this season, and the brother duo has compiled a 9-6 record overall.

• With a win, the Maroons will advance to the National Semifinals for the seventh time in the program history, where they would take on the winner of #3 Tufts and #7 Swarthmore in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon.

#6 BOWDOIN COLLEGE NOTES:

• #6 Bowdoin enters the National Quarterfinals with a 19-4 record overall on the season.

• The Polar Bears took down Roger Williams (4-0) and Babson (4-1) last weekend to advance to the National Quarterfinals for the third time in the last four years.

• #6 Bowdoin finished as the runners-up in the NESCAC Tournament, falling to #3 Tufts by a score of 4-1 in the conference finals.

• The Polar Bears enter the National Quarterfinals ranked as the #6 team in NCAA Division III and the #2 team in the Northeast Region.

• Mark Kneiss and Kiran Garapati both earned berths to the singles draw of the 2026 Individual National Championships.

• Kneiss enters the week ranked #3 in Division III with a 14-5 singles record, and Garapati is ranked #18 in NCAA Division III with a 15-5 singles record.

• The doubles team of Kneiss and Jackson Codd is ranked #10 in the country with a 13-8 record this season, but the duo just missed out on a berth to the Individual National Championships, finishing as the second alternate.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Bowdoin leads the all-time series 2-0 over UChicago with wins in both previous meetings.

• The Polar Bears earned a 5-0 win over UChicago in the 2018 National Semifinals.

• Bowdoin also earned a 7-2 win in Match of 2018 in the first meeting between these two teams.

• The Maroons have won five consecutive matches against NESCAC opponents, including a 6-1 win over #3 Tufts earlier this season.

• The last win for a NESCAC foe against the Maroons came in the 2018 National Semifinals match between Bowdoin and UChicago.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, May 19

11 AM ET - #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 4, #8 Emory 1

11 AM ET - #5 Case Western Reserve 4, #4 Denison 3

** 2 PM ET - #1 UChicago vs. #6 Bowdoin**

2 PM ET - #3 Tufts vs. #7 Swarthmore

Wednesday, May 20

1 PM ET - #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. #5 Case Western Reserve

1 PM ET - Winner of 2 PM Matches on Monday

Friday, May 22

1 PM ET - National Championship Match