The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team wrapped up its 2021 road schedule on Saturday afternoon in Oberlin, Ohio with a 9-0 win in the first match and an 8-1 victory in the second match against Oberlin College.
Case Western Reserve improved to 8-2 overall with the two wins, including a perfect 6-0 record against Division III opponents this season. Oberlin dropped to 0-5 following the two losses.
CWRU claimed wins in each of the three doubles matches in the opening contest. The third doubles duo of senior Aris Jhaveri and first-year Daniel French bested Nathan Engelhart and Ben Echikson 8-1, and at first doubles, sophomore James Hopper and senior Jonathan Powell extended the team's lead to 2-0 with an 8-1 win over Sean Billerbeck and Elliot Nuss. Sophomore Diego Maza and senior Earl Hsieh completed the doubles sweep with an 8-4 win over Sam Topper and Rohan Gold.
Maza would claim the first singles win of the contest, defeating Topper in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, in the third singles match, and Hopper clinched the team win with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Nuss at first singles. Sophomore John Kasner followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win at sixth singles over Engelhart, Jhaveri picked up a 6-0, 6-3 win over Gold in the no. 4 singles match, Powell secured a 6-0, 6-4 triumph against Billlerbeck at no. 2 singles, and sophomore Michael Sutanto completed the shutout with a 6-3, 6-3 win in the fifth singles match.
The Spartans would sweep doubles again in the second match of the day. Third doubles was the first to finish, with senior Anthony Kanam and junior Chaitanya Aduru shutting out Engelhart and Echikson 8-0. In the second doubles match, Powell and senior Neil Mabee defeated Topper and Gold 8-1, while at first singles, Hopper and Chen defeated Billerbeck and Nuss 8-4.
First-year Daniel French extended the Spartans' lead to 4-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Englehart at no. 6 singles, and junior Max Vicario would clinch the win for CWRU with a 6-2, 6-0 win at fifth singles over Echikson. Other Spartans to earn singles victories included first-year Vishwa Aduru, 6-4, 6-4 over Nuss at no. 1 singles, Chen with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Billerbeck at no. 2 singles, and first-year Sahil Dayal with a 6-1, 6-2 win at no. 3 singles. The team's lone setback of the day came at fourth singles, where Sutanto was forced to retire after suffering an injury, with his match against Gold tied at 6-6 in the first set.
The Spartans will be back in action tomorrow for their final two scheduled matches of the 2021 campaign. Case Western Reserve is scheduled to host a doubleheader against the College of Wooster at the Latuchie Tennis Center in Stow, Ohio starting at 1:00 p.m. Sunday's matches will also mark 'Senior Day for the Spartans, as the team will recognize its seven graduating players – Chen, Hsieh, Jhaveri, Kanam, Austin Lawrence, Mabee, Powell – with a ceremony in between the two matches.
