Release courtesy of Swarthmore Athletic Communications

CLAREMONT, Calif. – Swarthmore College's Michael Melnikov and Utham Koduri had their NCAA Men's Tennis Championships run come to an end with a semifinal loss to the University of Chicago on Sunday.
 
The pair finished the year with a 14-6 record, making their second national semifinals appearance in three seasons. Melnikov and Koduri set a new program mark with 44 career victories as a team, the most of any Garnet duo.
 
Melnikov's 23 total wins in doubles play this year equaled the single-season program record held by both Shep Davidson (1983) and Steve Brown (1984), both of whom are enshrined in the Garnet Athletics Hall of Fame. Melnikov recorded 14 victories with Koduri, seven with Max Lindstrom, and two with Nicholas Choo.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The team from Chicago provided a tough foe for Swarthmore, entering the match as the number two seed in the tournament and ranked number one in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings.
 
- Melnikov and Koduri did not back down from the challenge, going back-and-forth with the Maroons throughout the opening set. The frame ended up going to a tiebreak where Chicago ultimately edged out the Garnet, 7-4.
 
- Swarthmore looked to fight back in the second set but the Maroons proved to be too much, pulling away for a 6-2 victory to move on to the national championship match.