UChicago men’s tennis wins NCAA Division III team title—the first in school history

No. 1-ranked Maroons win 15 straight to end season; women finish as NCAA runners-up

The University of Chicago men’s tennis team made history on Wednesday, earning the school’s first NCAA Division III national championship.

Third-year student Christian Alshon’s ace in the third set was the clinching point, setting off a raucous celebration after the No. 1-ranked Maroons defeated rival Case Western Reserve University, 5-2.

The Maroons capped their historic season on a 15-match winning streak, finishing with a 22-1 record.

“Today’s championship is the culmination of many years of hard work by our current players and those that came before them,” said head coach Jay Tee. “Today, we focused not on playing for a championship or an opponent but instead just focused on the ball in front of us—the same one we’ve all hit a million times in our careers. The last three days, and the entire season, has been a complete team effort.

Tee added: “I’m just so thrilled to share the court with this group of men, and it is truly a privilege to be their coach. It’s the best group of young men I could ever ask to be associated with.”

The victory also marked UChicago’s first nationally recognized team championship since the 1913 football team. The Maroons were one of three teams to finish undefeated in the 1913 season, along with Auburn and Harvard.

The Maroons have also claimed 26 individual Division III championships dating back to 1986.

Women’s team finishes as NCAA runners-up

The No. 1-ranked UChicago women’s tennis team wrapped up its historic season with a 5-1 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the NCAA Division III national championship.

The Maroons came into Wednesday’s title match on a program-record 22-match winning streak.

"I can’t say enough good things about our team and season as a whole,” Tee said. “All that we accomplished and achieved was due to the work and commitment that each member of the team put in starting in January.

“It was an absolute joy and privilege to be their coach, and I can't thank them all enough for giving me the best year of my life.”

Since joining Division III in 1973, UChicago has reached the national championship final on five occasions. The women’s soccer team was the national runner-up in 2003 and 2017. Women’s tennis also took second place in 2012.

—Adapted from stories first published by UChicago Athletics.