The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team made history on Monday afternoon, becoming the first team in the history of the athletic department to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championships. The Spartans topped Trinity University 5-1 in their quarterfinal match at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee to claim their spot in the NCAA Semifinals.
The Spartans will now face University Athletic Association rival Washington University (Mo.) in the semifinals on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Fans can follow the match with live results at http://scores.tennisticker.de/usa/sewanee/lp.html?lid=240 and live video at https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/.
The Spartans improved to 13-2 overall with the win, including an 11-0 record against Division III opponents this season. The win assures the Spartans of a top-four finish nationally, the best finish ever by a CWRU team at an NCAA Championship event. The 2014 iteration of the men's tennis team, along with the 2018 men's soccer team and 2018 softball team each finished fifth in Division III in their respective years.
Case Western Reserve struck first in the match with a dominating 8-2 victory at no. 1 doubles from senior Matthew Chen and sophomore James Hopper, ranked first in the Central Region, over the West Region's fifth-ranked duo of Hao Nguyen and Christian Settles. Trinity evened the match with an 8-3 win at no. 2 doubles from Cameron Krimbill and Jordan Pitts over seniors Neil Mabee and Jonathan Powell, but the Spartans would regain the edge heading into singles play, as senior Anthony Kanam and junior Chaitanya Aduru bested Alessio Azzalini and Wilson Hamilton 8-3 in the third doubles contest.
Hopper, the top-ranked player in the Central Region, would add to the Spartans' lead with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Krimbill (ranked first in the West) at no. 1 singles, and Powell followed shortly after with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Pitts at fifth singles to put the team at the precipice of a clinch.
The historic clinching point would come at fourth singles, where Chaitanya Aduru sent the Spartans to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Hamilton.
The Spartans were up a set on two of the three remaining courts when play was stopped. At second singles, first-year Vishwa Aduru won the first set 7-5 and was ahead 3-0 in the second over Azzalini (ranked seventh in the West Region). At sixth singles, Kanam held a 6-3, 3-4 advantage over Settles. After dropping the first set to Nguyen (11th in the West Region), 6-4, Chen held a 4-2 lead in the second set at third singles.
Trinity ended its season with a 16-8 overall record.
Case Western Reserve will now turn its attention towards Washington, which earned its semifinal spot with a 5-0 win over George Fox on Monday afternoon. The win raised the Bears' record to 14-1 on the campaign, with their only loss coming against Division I Memphis in their season-opener on March 14. Since then, the Bears, ranked first in the Central Region, have reeled off 14-straight wins heading into their matchup with the Spartans.
Washington's lineup features Ethan Hillis (second in the Central), Scott Altmeyer (fifth in the Central) and the doubles duo of Altmeyer and Abhi Ramireddy (second in the Central). This is the Bears' 22nd appearance all-time in the NCAA Championships, and its fifth appearance in the final four. Washington won the 2008 NCAA Division III Championship.
The Spartans are 3-8 all-time against the Bears, but have won two of the last four meetings, including a 5-2 victory at the 2020 ITA Indoor Championships, the last matchup between the two squads.
Joining the Spartans and the Bears in the final four are Emory and Johns Hopkins, who will face off for the other spot in the NCAA Championship match at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday as well. The Championship match is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
