The top-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team began its national title defense by sweeping two matches on Friday evening at the Mayfield Village Racquet Club in Mayfield, Ohio, defeating NAIA Holy Cross College 5-2 and Allegheny College 9-0.

The Spartans will start the season with a record of 2-0, while the Saints drop to 0-1, and the Gators fall to 2-2. The two wins extend the team's winning streak dating back to last season to 21, and its winning streak against Division III opponents to 29.

#1 CWRU 5, Holy Cross 2

Senior Vishwa Aduru and junior Ansh Shah earned a 6-1 victory at third doubles over Luca McManus and Adam Singleton to start the match for CWRU. The Spartans clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at second doubles as graduate students Diego Maza and Michael Sutanto defeated Ciaran McCarthy and Ching Wah Wai. Case Western Reserve earned a sweep of the doubles matches with a win at first doubles. Sophomore Anmay Devaraj and senior Sahil Dayal earned a 7-6 (2) victory over Perry Gregg and Laurenz Flender.

Junior Casey Hishinuma started singles play with a 6-1, 6-3 win over McCarthy at fifth singles. Shah followed with a victory at fourth singles, besting McManus 6-2, 6-0. Maza clinched the win for CWRU by defeating Polis Koursaros at sixth singles 6-1, 7-5. At third singles, junior Ajay Mahenthiran outlasted Singleton in three sets, winning 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.

The Saints earned their two team points on the final two singles matches of the contest, winning at first singles 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-5, and prevailing at second singles 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

#1 CWRU 9, Allegheny 0

CWRU swept the doubles matches to earn all three points heading into singles play. Sophomore Rohan Bhat and first-year George Kosseifi started with an 8-0 win at third doubles over Charles Reid Stasolla and David Rodriguez. Dayal and Shah picked up an 8-2 win at first doubles over William Jarvie and Benedek Kaibas, and Devearaj and Maza finished the sweep with an 8-5 victory at second doubles over Anton Hedlund and Evan Nelson.

First-year Derek Shiffer did not drop a point at sixth singles, defeating Mitchell Curtis, 6-0, 6-0, to increase the team's lead to four. Junior Ben Martin clinched the match victory with a 6-0, 6-2, win over Nathan Kisiel at fifth singles.

First-year Santiago Salazar Garza added to the lead with a 6-0, 6-0, victory at third singles over Kaibas. Bhat followed with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Nelson at fourth singles. At second singles, Kosseifi bested Jarvie, 6-3, 6-2, and Devaraj completed the sweep with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Hedlund at first singles.

The Spartans will face three opponents on Saturday, February 17, with part of the team traveling to Oberlin, Ohio, to face Oberlin College and the Illinois Institute of Technology, and part of the team staying home to take on 23rd-ranked Kenyon College in Mayfield, Ohio.