The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team, ranked fifth in Division III, secured its fourth-straight University Athletic Association Championship appearance with a 4-2 win over fifth-ranked Emory University in the semifinals of the conference championship tournament on Saturday afternoon at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The Spartans, seeded second in the tournament, will take on the top-seeded and fourth-ranked University of Chicago in the UAA Championship match on Sunday morning. The Maroons bested NYU 4-1 on Saturday to claim its spot in the title match.

CWRU improved to 24-5 overall following the win while Emory fell to 14-6.

The Spartans were able to claim the doubles point with wins in the first and third matches on Saturday. Senior Ajay Mahenthiran and junior Rohan Bhat picked up the win at third doubles, defeated Charley Force and Dean Kamenev 6-1, while senior Casey Hishinuma and junior Anmay Devaraj, ranked ninth in Division III, bested 11th-ranked Christian Liew and Ruilin Feng 6-3. When doubles play was stopped due to the point having been allocated, first-years Jon Totorica and Leon Chen led Efe Comu and Ajay Kartik 5-4 in the second doubles match.

Mahenthiran, ranked 17th nationally among singles players, claimed a 6-1, 6-2 win over 37th-ranked Kamenev, in the first singles match to extend the Spartans' lead to 2-0. The Eagles got on the board with a win at second singles, as sophomore George Kosseifi fell to 19th-ranked Feng, but a 6-4, 6-2 win by Hishinuma against Force at fifth doubles put the Spartans a point away from clinching. The Eagles secured another point with a victory in the sixth singles match as sophomore Santiago Salazar Garza, ranked 49th, dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Kartik, setting the score at 3-2.

The Spartans dropped the first set in the remaining two singles matches but bounced back to win the second set in each. The decisive fourth team point would come from the third singles match, where Devaraj came from behind to upset 25th-ranked Efe Comy, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0 to clinch the team win for CWRU and write the squad's ticket to the UAA Championship match.

When the match was stopped junior Matthew Plunkett was leading in the third set over Liew, 3-6, 6-1, 3-2.

CWRU will face Chicago for the UAA Championship on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Fans can follow the action with live results at https://ioncourt.com/leagues/2025-uaa-mens-tennis-championships and a full recap and results will be posted to athletics.case.edu following the completion of competition on Sunday.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans have won their last five matches against Emory, including wins at each of the last four UAA Championships.

• CWRU will be making its fourth appearance in the UAA Championship match all-time, each of which has taken place over the last four years. The Spartans have won one UAA title, winning the conference championship in 2023 en route to winning the NCAA Championship later in the spring.

• This is the third time in the last four years that CWRU and Chicago will play for the UAA Championship. 

• CWRU improved to 12-3 against nationally-ranked Division III teams this season. Emory was the highest-ranked opponent the Spartans have defeated this year. CWRU stands at 24-3 against Division III opposition this season.