No. 21 Spartan Men Set for UAA Championship Tournament
UAA Championship Site | Tournament Bracket
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The No. 21 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team looks primed to contend for a top spot at the 2012 University Athletic Association Championship Tournament on Thursday-Saturday, April 26-28 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
The Spartans enter the field as the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 seed and No. 30 nationally-ranked Chicago in the opening round on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Case enters ranked No. 3 in the Central Region in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls, while Chicago checks in at No. 6.
One of the premier Division III tennis tournaments in the country, five of the Association's teams begin play ranked in the ITA National Top 30.
"This team has continually made great strides both individually and as a whole," said fourth-year Head Coach Todd Wotjkowski. "We need to continue this focus and a positive trend this upcoming weekend as we navigate through the always tough UAA Tournament."
Leading the way at the top of the Spartan singles lineup will be freshman Will Drougas (Roanoke, Va./Salem), ranked No. 6 in the region having posted a team-best 18 wins (18-12) with an 8-4 mark at the No. 1 position. Senior co-captain Sean Carr (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) will likely play No. 2 with a 12-13 overall record, while junior Kyle Gerber (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) or senior co-captain Rohan Patel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) will round out the upper half of the lineup at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The final two singles spots will likely be played by sophomores Eric Klawitter (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) and John Healey (Columbia, Md./Atholton). Klawitter posted a 14-10 record this season while was 14-7, including an 8-1 record at No. 6.
In doubles play, Healey and Gerber are second in the region with an 11-3 mark, while Carr and junior Richard Brunsting (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) will play No. 2 with a 9-4 record. The No. 3 flight will likely feature Patel and either Klawitter or Drougas.
"This weekend also has huge NCAA Tournament implications, and those that are close to the program know that I have not had a haircut in 11 months," joked Wotjkowski. "The deal is if we make the NCAA tourney, I can finally cut my hair and that would be great."
The Spartans defeated Chicago less than two weeks ago by a score of 7-2. The winner of the rematch plays the winner of No. 1 seed Emory University (Ga.) and No. 8 seed University of Rochester (N.Y.) on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m.
