University of Chicago men’s and women’s tennis teams score rare double championships

CHICAGO (CBS) – The University of Chicago men’s and women’s tennis teams pulled off a rare feat that’s only been done five times in Division III history when both squads won national championships.

The women’s team broke through with the title after finishing as national runners-up two years in a row. It was the first title for any women’s program in school history.

“You wonder if its every going to be your turn to get that close,” said women’s head coach Jay Tee. “And it’s hard to get back, but to get it was awesome and the look on their faces, man. It wasn’t just relief. It was joy.”

Just one day later, the men rallied to win their second championship in three years with an almost too-exuberant celebration by senior Ajrun Ashokumar, who threw his racket in the air, nearly hitting a camera.

“I don’t know, my body took over and [the] racket flung out of the court and all my teammates stormed my court,” Asokumar said. “It was an unbelievable moment.”

He added that he didn’t realize immediately that he almost hit the camera. He said he later received texts from friends showing him the clip of his celebration.

“I didn’t know in the moment that I almost made a $60,000 mistake,” Asokumar said.

Both teams said they wouldn’t have earned their respective trophies without each others’ support.

“The women, they made the finals three times in a row and I was so happy that they got it,” Asokumar said. “I was cheering on for them. Our whole men’s team pretty much came out the day before. We were so happy they got it, and for us to kind of cap it off and get the clean sweep, as Jay said, we’re a tennis school.”

Rena Lin said without the support of the men’s team, it “would have been a much tougher final” for the women’s team.

“They were so loud and brought so much energy and so we wanted to give that back to them in their final match and I was really glad that we were able to,” Lin said. “I don’t know if you can hear my voice. It’s still sort of raspy from cheering for them.”

The coaches assist each other as well. Tee had been the coach for both teams for 11 years before focusing on just the women’s team this year. That opened the door for Matt Brisotti to take over the men’s squad.

“Just genuine support of just wanting to help, wanting to be there but also allowing me to just be myself is one of the biggest things for sure,” Brisotti said.

Tee said Brisotti “did a great job with the men’s team, but to be there and to see it and to invest 11 years in it, and then to see them do it on their own and see Matt have his own program and get it, and to be able to play a small part in it was special.”

To cap it off, Lin defeated teammate Slywia Mikos for the women’s individual title, just three days after taking the team crown.

“It was so much fun,” Lin said. “I think it was just sort of a relief for me. Like I really wanted it to be an all UChicago final.”

Tee said having two Maroons in the individual final was great “because you know you’re gonna get a winner, so someone is gonna lose that match and be disappointed, but luckily, they’re such good friends and good teammates and good people, that they’re happy for one another.”

Reporter: “So, where do we go from here?”

Tee: “To bed. I don’t know. We’re going to enjoy this one for a long time.”