The 12th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team defeated 29th-ranked Denison University 8-1 on 'Senior Day' at the Mayfield Village Racquet Club in Mayfield, Ohio on Sunday afternoon.
The win was the eighth-straight victory for the Spartans, who improved to 15-1 overall, while the Big Red dropped to 8-4 following the setback.
CWRU took a 2-1 lead after doubles play, behind wins from first-years Hannah Kassaie and Lily McCloskey at no. 1 doubles, and junior Savannah Bright and sophomore Katherine Wang at third doubles. Kassaie and McCloskey, ranked second in the Central Region, defeated the region's eighth-ranked duo of Sydney Cianciola and Sarah Robertson 8-2, while Bright and Wang picked up an 8-1 win against Kendall Schrader and Hannah Bradvica. The Spartans' lone setback in doubles play came in the second match, where sophomore Pallavi Goculdas and junior Nina Hoog fell 8-4 to Caroline Lopez and Monique Brual.
First-year Madeleine Eiss extended CWRU's lead to 3-1 with a flawless 6-0, 6-0 win against Schrader in the sixth singles match. At no. 1 singles, Kassaie, ranked second in the region, followed with a 6-0, 6-4 win against Cianciola (ranked 16th in the region) to put the Spartans a victory away from clinching. First-year Radha Patel secured the team win shortly thereafter, defeating Brual 6-0, 6-2 in the third singles match.
Adding to the Spartans' margin of victory were McCloskey (the 10th-ranked player in the region) with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Robertson (ranked 24th in the region) at second singles, first-year Anna Kan with a 6-1, 6-0 win against Lopez at fifth singles, and Bright with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Bradvica at fourth singles.
Prior to the start of the match, the Spartans celebrated 'Senior Day,' honoring the team's four graduating players – Bright, and seniors Eliza Georgiades, Nidhi Jha and Shreyaa Mukund.
The Spartans will take a week off from competition before taking on #11 Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh on Saturday, April 16.
