In a rematch of last season's NCAA Division III Championship match, the Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team exacted a measure of revenge against Emory University, as the Spartans claimed a 5-0 win over the Eagles on Friday afternoon in Altamonte Springs, Florida to advance to the Championship Match of the 2022 University Athletic Association Championship.
The nationally top-ranked Spartans, who are seeded first in the draw, improved to 21-3 on the season following the victory, and moved one away from matching the program's record for wins in a campaign. Emory, ranked 11th in Division III and seeded fourth in the draw, dropped to 8-9 on the campaign with the loss.
CWRU took immediate control of the match, starting with an 8-3 win from junior James Hopper and graduate student Jonathan Powell at no. 1 doubles against Andrews Esses and Nolan Shah. At third doubles, senior Chaitanya Aduru and junior Michael Sutanto earned an 8-5 win against Sahil Raina and Ryan Glanville. Completing the sweep of the doubles matches for the Spartans were sophomores Vishwa Aduru and Sahil Dayal, who defeated Antonio Mora and Samuel Dean at the no. 2 match, 8-5.
In singles action, Hopper defeated Mora 6-3, 6-1 at no. 1 singles to put CWRU in front 4-0, and a 6-2, 6-1 win by first-year Ansh Shah at no. 3 singles against Nolan Shah clinched the victory for CWRU.
At the time play was stopped, the Spartans were up a set and leading in the second on each of the other four singles courts. Vishwa Aduru held a 6-2, 3-1 lead against Esses at no. 2 singles, Sutanto led Brandon Cohen 6-3, 3-1 at no. 4 singles, Chaitanya Aduru was ahead 6-3, 4-1 at no. 5 singles against Santiago Suarez, and Powell was up 6-2, 5-1 at no. 6 singles over Sujay Sharma.
With the win, CWRU assured itself its highest-ever finish at the UAA Championships, regardless of the results of the championship contest. The Spartans will face second-ranked and second-seeded Chicago (16-1) for the conference title at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
CWRU and Chicago have already faced off once this season, with the Spartans topping the Maroons 5-1 to win the ITA D3 National Team Indoor Championship. Fans can follow Saturday's UAA Championship match with live results at http://apps.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/athletics/scoring/wsoccer/xlive.htm.
