The 17th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team defeated the University of Rochester 4-1 in the first consolation round of the University Athletic Association Championship on Friday afternoon at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The Spartans, seeded fifth in the eight-team draw, improved to 13-6 on the season and evened their UAA record at 1-1. CWRU will face seventh-seeded Brandeis in the Fifth Place Match on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The Yellowjackets, seeded eighth, fell to 11-8 overall and 0-2 in conference matches.

Graduate student Laurel Utterback and junior Ellior Rose started the match with a 6-1 win at third doubles over Jasmin Toor and Sanjana Karnam. CWRU secured the doubles point when senior Lily McCloskey and junior Katalina Wang, ranked 10th in Division III, defeated Josephine Libby and Katie Yang 6-3 at first doubles. When the point was decided, senior Anna Kan and sophomore Katie Wong led Lauren Kallas and Maya Bravo 5-2 on the second court.

Junior Asha Shukla did not drop a point at fifth singles, defeating Karnam 6-0, 6-0 for the second CWRU tally. McCloskey, ranked 29th nationally in singles play, followed with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Libby at first singles. Junior Elsa Syed then clinched the match win for CWRU by beating Neha Dania 6-1, 6-2 at sixth singles.

Rochester scored its lone point on a win by retirement at third singles.

When the match ended, Utterback, ranked 43rd in Division III, led Bravo 6-1, 5-1 at second singles. Kan held a 7-5, 3-1 lead over Toor at fourth singles.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU has won its last 14 matches against Rochester in a winning streak that dates back to the 2013-14 season. The Spartans are 14-1 against the Yellowjackets since 2012
• Rochester entered the weekend ranked 45th by the ITA in Division III
• Entering the weekend, the partnership of McCloskey and Wang ranked fourth in the Central Region as a doubles pair with McCloskey also appearing seventh in the regional singles rankings and Utterback ranking 10th regionally
• The Spartans improved to 113-61 overall in singles play and 62-29 in doubles matches during the 2024-25 campaign
• The doubles victory was the 20th for McCloskey this season, giving her at least 20 doubles wins for the fourth consecutive year (25 last season, 21 in 2022-23, and 17 in 2021-22)