The fourth-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team will face the fifth-ranked University of Chicago in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 19, at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.
Live Coverage
Live Results: http://webapps3.cmc.edu/livescore/ (live video coverage of each court without commentary is available at this site)
Video Coverage: https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule
The Spartans
CWRU will enter the match as one of the hottest teams in Division III men's tennis, having won 20 of their last 21 matches and each of their last six contests. The team stands at 27-5 overall this season, and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship after winning the 2025 University Athletic Association Championship over the same Chicago team it will face on Monday. After receiving a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, CWRU went on to best 56th-ranked Whitman College 5-0 in the second round and 13th-ranked Kenyon College 4-0 in the third round.
The Spartans' lineup features several nationally-ranked singles players, including 11th-ranked senior Ajay Mahenthiran, 40th-ranked sophomore George Kosseifi, and 49th-ranked junior Anmay Devaraj, in addition to a nationally-ranked doubles pairing in 13th-ranked Devaraj and senior Casey Hishinuma and Devaraj. CWRU players hold a combined .748 winning percentage (243-82) in singles matches and a .693 winning percentage (106-47) in doubles play.
The Maroons
Chicago stands at 23-3 overall on the season and placed second in the UAA this season behind the Spartans. The team has won 10 of its last 11 contests, with the only setback during the stretch being the conference championship loss to CWRU. After receiving an at-large bid to the tournament, the Maroons bested 62nd-ranked Grinnell College 4-0 in the second round and 30th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the third round.
The Maroons feature the top-ranked doubles team in Division III in Andrei Leonov and Pat Otero, along with the 17th-ranked duo in Emil Grantcharov and Derek Hsieh. Chicago also has three nationally-ranked singles players in no. 8 Alexander Ekstrand, no. 16 Grantcharov, and no. 23 Michael Choi. The Maroons are a combined 150-57 (.725) in singles matches and 78-36 (.684) in doubles play.
Matchup History
Monday night's matchup will be the second meeting this season between the two teams. CWRU bested Chicago 4-1 in the UAA Championship match on April 27 with wins from first-years Jon Totorica and Leon Chen (no. 2 doubles), junior Rohan Bhat and Mahenthiran (no. 3 doubles) to clinch the doubles point, and from Mahenthiran (no. 1 singles), Devaraj (no. 3 singles), and Hishinuma (no. 5 singles) in singles play.
CWRU has won two of the last three meetings overall, and the teams have split their 18 matchups against each other since the 2011 season.
Next Up
The winner of Monday's match will move on to the NCAA Division III Semifinals against either top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps or 12th-ranked Babson College on Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET in Claremont, while the losing team's season will come to a close.
Spartan Notes
-
CWRU, making its eighth NCAA Championship appearance, stands at 21-6 all-time in tournament play.
-
This is the Spartans' fifth consecutive NCAA DIII quarterfinal appearance. The team has gone 3-2 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal matches.
-
CWRU won the NCAA Division III Championship in 2023 and finished second in 2021 and 2022.
-
Hishinuma ranks second in program history with 91 career singles wins, while Mahenthiran is fourth with 88.
-
Hishinuma leads all CWRU players in singles wins with a 28-6 record, including a 17-1 mark in the no. 5 spot. Junior Matthew Plunkett has a team-long 14-match winning streak and stands at 22-5 overall.
