When the NCAA announced that the final rounds of the Division III tennis championships were going to be held in St. Louis for the first time since 2007, it gave the Washington University men’s tennis team a special opportunity: competing for a national championship in Forest Park, just a short walk away from WashU’s Danforth campus. Unfortunately for the Bears, the men’s tennis team didn’t get that chance.

Student Life sat down with the graduating senior to discuss his athletic career thus far, his future plans after graduating, and his overall history with the sport of tennis. 

Entering the weekend of April 12, the Washington University men’s and women’s tennis teams had a lot on the line.

Following the weekend, the Bears move to 9-7 on the season with four more matches to go before the University Athletic Association (UAA) and NCAA championships.

After placing second in the 2024 ITA national indoor tennis championship, the No. 9 Washington University men’s tennis team was looking to take this momentum into the outdoor part of the season. They did just that, going 2-0 to start this new part of the season. The women’s team, ranked No. 15 in the country, similarly dominated, winning their only match of the weekend 8-1 over North Central College.

“We really showed that we have some guys that can really battle, some real dogs on our team…I think this tournament really showed us what we’re capable of.”

“I wanted to win not for myself, really, but for the team overall,” Phillips said. “Having all my teammates on the next court over watching me and screaming for me after every point didn’t really make me nervous. It honestly just made me really excited to be out there and just be playing on behalf of my team and just trying to do everything for them to win.”

Coming off of a dominant fall season, the Washington University men’s tennis team is hoping to bring the same energy to their spring games. In an interview with Student Life, junior Gaurav Singh gave insight into what he is looking forward to this spring

The men’s tennis team capped off the regular season with an 11-1 record, losing only to Division I University of Memphis in the first match of the season and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA regional tournament.

“I believe and this team believes that we can win a championship this year,” sophomore Abhi Ramireddy said.