The 13th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team placed fourth at the University Athletic Association Championship after losing 5-2 to seventh-ranked Washington University in St. Louis in the UAA Third-Place Match on Sunday morning at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The Spartans ended the regular seaosn with a record of 14-6 and concluded conference play with a 1-2 record. The Bears improved to 17-4 overall and 1-2 in the UAA. The fourth-place finish matches the best in program history, which the team also achieved in 2022.

Case Western Reserve started with a victory at first doubles with juniors Hannah Kassaie and Lily McCloskey defeating Eliana Hanna and Amber Edmonds 8-3. However, the Bears evened the match score with an 8-1 triumph at second doubles. WashU prevailed in a hard-fought third doubles match to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles play. Emily Chiasson and Ainsley Heidbreder defeated senior Pallavi Goculdas and junior Anna Kan in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-3).

The Spartans tied the match score with a win at first singles. Kassaie defeated Nina Moravek in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. However, the Bears scored the next two points with victories at third and fourth singles, and WashU clinched the victory with a 6-4, 7-5, win at second singles.

When the match was called, the Spartans led on the remaining two courts. Junior Radha Patel claimed the first set 6-2 over Edmonds at fifth singles, and sophomore Asha Shukla led 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 at sixth singles over Chiasson.

With the regular season complete, the Spartans will await the draw for the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship which is scheduled to be released on Monday, May 6 by 12 p.m. in a press release on ncaa.com. CWRU, which was ranked first in the region in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, is in a strong position to make its third consecutive appearance in the national tournament. Singles and doubles selections to the national championships will be announced on Wednesday, May 8.