The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team, ranked sixth in Division III, clinched a fifth-place finish at the 2016 University Athletic Association Championships, after topping 23rd-ranked Brandeis University 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans finished the UAA Championships with a 2-1 record, improving to 20-7 overall, while Brandeis dropped to 9-9 with the loss.
Case Western Reserve took the early lead in the match with wins in all three doubles contest. Seniors CJ Krimbill and Louis Stuerke topped Ryan Bunis and Michael Arguello 8-5 at first doubles, while junior James Fojtasek and Phil Gruber claimed an 8-5 win over Danny Lubarsky and Brian Granoff at second doubles, and freshmen David Zakhodin and John Benedetto defeated Jeff Cherkin and Tyler Ng at third doubles 8-3.
The Judges would close the gap in the score with wins in three of the four singles matches, but the Spartans would clinch the victory with wins from Krimbill at first singles, 6-2, 6-1 over Ryan Bunis, and from junior Joshua Dughi over Jackson Kogan at sixth singles, 6-3, 6-1.
Krimbill, the reigning UAA Most Valuable Player, finished the 2016 UAA Championships with a perfect record, going 3-0 in both singles and doubles contest.
The Spartans will return home for their final schedule match of the regular season against Balwin Wallace University on Saturday, April 30th at 9:00 a.m.
