The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team topped Gutsavus Adolphus College 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in Round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Championships in Chicago, Illinois to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals for just the second time in the program's history.
The Spartans, who improved to 12-2 overall and to 10-0 against Division III opposition this season, will now head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the final three rounds of the NCAA Championships will be played at the Champions Club from May 24 – 26. CWRU's opponent in the quarterfinals on Monday, May 24 will be Trinity University (16-7), which bested Southwestern University 5-1 in their round of 16 match on Sunday. The match is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.
All three of the doubles matches were closely contested, but CWRU was able to pull out victories in each of the three. At no. 1 doubles, sophomore James Hopper and senior Matthew Chen came back from an early deficit to best Nick Aney and Alex Budde 8-5. At no. 2 doubles, seniors Neil Mabee and Jonathan Powell were able to hold on for an 8-7 win over Xavier Sanga and Daniel Fouchier. In the third doubles match, senior Anthony Kanam and junior Chaitanya Aduru mounted a comeback as well, topping Joseph Punnoose and Sourabh Terakanambi 8-6.
With their doubles wins, Chen and Kanam each moved into a tie for second place in program history with former Spartan Louis Stuerke with 92 career doubles victories.
Motivated by the close victories during the doubles portion of the match, the Spartans went on to pick up two quick singles wins. At no. 1 singles, Hopper best Aney 6-3, 6-1 to put CWRU ahead 4-0. Powell would go on to secure the clinching point with a 6-1, 6-4 win at fifth singles over Caleb Fridinger.
The Spartans were ahead by a set in each of the other four courts when play was stopped following the CWRU's team victory, including two matches where Spartan players were a game away from picking up a win. At fourth singles, Chaitanya Aduru led Budde 7-6, 5-4, while in the sixth singles match, Kanam led Jackson Bergmeyer 6-3, 5-2. In the other two matches, first-year Vishwa Aduru held a 6-2, 3-4 advantage over Indraneel Raut and Chen was ahead of Fouchier 6-3, 4-3.
With the loss, Gustavus Adolphus ended its season with a 17-3 overall record.
Joining the Spartans and the Trinity Tigers in the NCAA Quarterfinals will be Washington University, George Fox, Brandeis, Johns Hopkins, Williams and Emory. This will be CWRU's first appearance in the quarterfinals since the 2014 campaign.
More information on the Spartans' NCAA Quarterfinals match against Trinity, including full preview, will be posted to athletics.case.edu next week.
