The 12th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team swept a pair of home duals on Saturday at the Mayfield Village Racquet Club in Mayfield, Ohio, defeating Otterbein University 9-0 and Wittenberg University 9-0.
With the two wins, the Spartans improved to 3-0 in dual matches this season. The Cardinals fell to 2-1, and the Tigers fell to 2-1.
#12 CWRU 9, Otterbein 0
The Spartans started the first match of the day with a sweep of doubles play. Sophomore Radha Patel and first-year Katalina Wang earned the first point at second doubles with an 8-1 win over Olivia Eckels and Aubrey McMahon. Senior Shreya Ramani and junior Caitlyn Hsu followed at third doubles with an 8-1 victory over Rachelle Moses and Julia Gillin. To wrap up the sweep, sophomores Hannah Kassaie and Lily McCloskey prevailed 8-4 over Erin Storrer and Lillia Walter at first doubles.
Sophomore Anna Kan and first-year Elsa Syed clinched the match for Case Western Reserve without dropping a point in their singles matches. Kan defeated Moses 6-0, 6-0 at third singles, and Syed bested Eckels 6-0, 6-0 at sixth singles to give the Spartans the decisive fifth match point. At fifth singles, junior Chloe Ku added to the lead with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over McMahon, and at fourth singles, first-year Asha Shukla picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win over Cassady Shough. Patel and McCloskey finished the sweep with wins at second singles and first singles, respectively, with Patel beating Walter 6-3, 6-1 and McCloskey defeating Storrer 6-2, 6-4.
#12 CWRU 9, Wittenberg 0
The second match of the day started similarly for CWRU, with McCloskey and Kassaie defeating Wittenberg's Ashley Isaac and Caroline Sproule 8-1 at first doubles. Juniors Katherine Wang and Pallavi Goculdas did not drop a point at second doubles, beating Kelsey Smith and Claire Sullivan 8-0. To finish the doubles sweep, Kan and senior Nina Hoog won a hard-fought 8-4 match over PJ Meyers and Claire Stechow at second doubles.
Kan started singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Meyers at third singles. First-year Ellior Rose then secured the team victory with a win at sixth singles, besting Smith 6-2, 6-0.
Ku, Goculdas, and Kassaie all added two-set singles wins for Case Western Reserve. Ku defeated Sullivan 6-4, 6-1 at fifth singles, Goculdas bested Stechow 6-1, 6-2 at fourth singles, and Kassaie took down Isaac 6-1, 6-1 at first singles.
To close the team win, Katalina Wang came from behind to win a three-set second singles match, defeating Sproule, 2-6, 6-1, 1-0.
The Spartans will head to Lexington, Virginia, next weekend for three matches against nationally ranked opponents. On Friday, February 17, CWRU faces #21 Washington and Lee at 3 p.m. The following day, the team takes on #23 Christopher Newport at 11 a.m. To wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Case Western Reserve plays #14 Mary Washington at 9 a.m.
