The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team opened up play at the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships on Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 win over Illinois Tech at the Stagg Field Tennis Courts in Chicago, Illinois.
It marks the fourth time in as many NCAA appearances that CWRU has reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Championships. The Spartans, who improved to 11-2 overall and to 9-0 against Division III opponents this season, will face Gutsavus Adolphus College (17-2) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET in Chicago, as the team will be aiming for its second-ever trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
CWRU got off to a quick start in doubles play, where sophomore James Hopper and senior Matthew Chen topped Andre Torres and Nabil Fawaz 8-0 at no. 1 doubles. Senior Anthony Kanam and junior Chaitanya Aduru followed with an 8-0 win at no. 3 doubles over Adam Laitinen and Roman Shishlov. The Spartans second-doubles pairing of seniors Neil Mabee and Jonathan Powell gave CWRU a 3-0 lead with an 8-1 victory over Broderick Croonquist and Jordan Lauer.
In singles play, Chen put the Spartans in front 4-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win at third singles over Pablo Marroquin Borque. Chaitanya Aduru clinched the match minutes later with a 6-1, 6-1, win over Fawaz at no. 4 singles.
CWRU led on each of the four other courts when play was stopped following the clinching point. At first singles, Hopper held a 6-1, 5-1 advantage over Torres, while first-year Vishwa Aduru held a 5-4 lead in the first set over Shishlov. At fifth singles, Powell was ahead of Lauer 6-0, 5-0, and in the sixth singles match Kanam was on top of Laitinen 6-4, 1-0.
The loss was the first of the season for Illinois Tech, which ended its campaign with an 8-1 record.
The Spartans' opponent for their third-round match, Gustavus Adolphus, advanced earlier in the day, edging out Denison 5-4 in their second-round contest. CWRU is 2-1 all-time against the Gusties, who earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships after winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship. The two teams last played in 2019, with Gustavus Adolphus winning 5-0.
Fans can follow the Round of 16 match between the Spartans and the Gusties with live results at https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/mten/live-results.
