The Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team continued its stretch of unprecedented success in program history, reaching the NCAA Division III Championship match for the fourth time in the last five years during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Spartans finished the season with a 29-6 overall record, the second-most wins in a single season in program history, ranking only behind the team's 32 wins during its NCAA Championship season in 2022-23. While the team's play was strong throughout the season, the squad gelled in the second half of the campaign, winning 22 of 24 matches from the start of March until the NCAA Championship. CWRU ended the year with a 29-4 record against Division III opponents, a 17-4 mark against nationally-ranked Division III teams at the time of the match, and a 6-4 ledger against top-10 Division III squads.
En route to reaching the NCAA Division III Championship match, the Spartans claimed the second University Athletic Association Championship in program history, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Entering the conference draw as the second-seeded team, CWRU defeated 33rd-ranked Brandeis 4-1 in the quarterfinals and fifth-ranked Emory 4-2 in the semifinals, before winning the UAA Title with a 4-1 victory over fourth-ranked Chicago, clinched with a fifth-singles win from senior Casey Hishinuma.
CWRU went on to host the first three rounds of the NCAA Championship at the Carlton Courts for the fourth straight season. After receiving a first-round bye, the Spartans bested 56th-ranked Whitman 5-0 before securing a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Claremont, California, with a 4-0 win over Kenyon, clinched again by Hishinuma.
In the NCAA Quarterfinals, CWRU bested Chicago for the second time in less than a month, winning 4-2 over the Maroons. Junior Rohan Bhat and senior Ajay Mahenthiran broke a 1-1 doubles tie with a 7-5 win in the third match to give the Spartans the doubles point. Mahenthiran added a straight-set win at no. 1 singles to push CWRU's lead to 2-0, but Chicago won back-to-back singles matches to even the score. However, junior Anmay Devaraj went on to win the third singles match, and junior Matthew Plunkett clinched the match with a three-set victory in the fourth singles match.
Pitted against host and top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinals, wins from Devaraj and Hishinuma at no. 1 doubles and Bhat and Mahenthiran at no. 3 doubles put the Spartans ahead 1-0 early. CWRU and CMS split the first four singles matches to be decided, but once again, Plunkett picked up a three-set win in the fourth singles match to write the Spartans' ticket to the NCAA Championship against second-ranked Denison. After dropping the doubles point in the title contest, Devaraj and Hishinuma each claimed singles wins to give CWRU a 2-1 advantage, and the team was up a set on three of the four remaining singles courts. However, Denison was able to battle back with wins in the sixth, first, and fourth singles matches to clinch the NCAA Division III Championship.
In addition to competing in the team championship, the Spartans' top doubles pairing of Hishinuma and Devaraj went on to compete in the NCAA Individual Championship as the third-seeded duo, but suffered a first-round loss. By being a top four seed at the NCAA Championship, Hishinuma and Devaraj earned All-America honors, as did Mahenthiran, who claimed the award for his singles play after finishing the year ranked 12th in Division III.
CWRU's fall season was highlighted by senior Ansh Shah's runner-up finish in the singles draw at the ITA Fall Regional Championship. Entering the tournament as the ninth-seeded player, Shah won his first five matches and claimed the first set in the championship match against Denison's Ethan Green, but suffered an injury mid-match. Despite the physical impairment, Shah was able to finish the contest, suffering a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 loss, but was forced to withdraw from the ITA Cup field and missed the entirety of the spring season.
Despite the loss of Shah during the dual match season in the spring, the Spartans quickly coalesced around the remaining talented corps. The singles lineup quickly solidified with Mahenthiran in the top spot, followed by sophomore George Kosseifi, Devaraj, Plunkett, Hishinuma, and sophomore Santiago Salazar Garza. While it took the team longer to lock in its doubles lineup, Devaraj and Hishinuma remained in the no. 1 position for most of the year, and first-years Leon Chen and Jon Totorica emerged behind them as a strong no. 2 pairing with an 18-6 record together. By the end of the season, Mahenthiran and Bhat stepped up as a solid option in the third doubles slot, finishing the campaign 7-2 as a pair and winning each of their last six matches to be decided, including going 3-0 at the UAA Championship and 3-0 during the NCAA Tournament.
CWRU entered the ITA Indoor Championship in late February as the third-seeded team in the draw after opening the campaign with a 6-2 record, with the team's two early-season losses coming against Wayne State (ranked 17th in Division II) and Northwestern Ohio (ranked eighth in the NAIA). The Spartans won their quarterfinal match at the ITA Indoor Championship against ninth-ranked Swarthmore, but went on to suffer setbacks against Claremont-Mudd Scripps in the semifinals and Denison in the third-place match to finish fourth at the event. Hishinuma earned a spot on the event's All-Tournament Team after going 3-0 in no. 5 singles matches during the weekend.
The Spartans quickly reverted to top form after the two losses at the ITA Indoor Championship. After two weeks off, CWRU traveled to Florida for its annual Spring Break Trip and went 9-0 during the excursion, marking the start of a 14-match winning streak. The Spartans' only two losses for the remainder of the season were both by a 4-2 score against Denison, one on April 11 in Granville, Ohio, and the second in the National Championship.
Hishinuma and Devaraj ended the campaign 15-6 in no. 1 doubles matches, were named to the All-UAA First Team, and finished the year ranked 12th in Division III and fourth in the Central Region. Also ending the year nationally ranked in doubles action were Chen and Totorica, who checked in at 19th nationally and ninth regionally, while earning All-UAA Second Team honors for their work at no. 2 doubles. In addition to being ranked 12th nationally, Mahenthiran, an All-UAA First Team honoree at no. 1 singles, was ranked fourth in the region. Additional Spartans featured in the final singles rankings included Shah (28th nationally), Kosseifi (35th nationally, 11th regionally), All-UAA First Team no. 3 singles player Devaraj (36th nationally, 12th regionally), All-UAA honorable mention fourth singles player Plunkett (56th nationally, 16th regionally), Salazar Garza (69th nationally, 20th regionally), and All-UAA Second Team fifth singles player Hishinuma (72nd nationally). In addition, led by Head Coach Todd Wojtkowski, CWRU was named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year for just the second time in program history following the 2025 campaign.
Hishinuma matched former Spartan CJ Krimbill's program record for singles wins in a season, finishing the year with a 30-7 overall record, while his 93 career singles wins were the second-most in program history behind only Krimbill's 107. Hishinuma also led the team in doubles wins during the year, going 26-11.
Other 20-match singles winners for CWRU during the campaign included Mahenthiran (25-13), Plunkett (24-6), Devaraj (22-9), Kosseifi (22-9), and Salazar Garza (22-8). Mahenthiran finished his career with 89 singles wins, the fourth-most in program history. Additional CWRU players with 20 or more doubles wins during the year included Devaraj (25-11), Mahenthiran (22-6), Bhat (20-10), and Chen (20-6).
In addition to the team's success on the court, the Spartans also received a plethora of individual awards for their academic achievement. Mahenthiran was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team while Hishinuma was named to the Second Team. The duo also received CSC Academic All-District honors along with Devaraj and Kosseifi. Fifteen members of the squad - Bhat, Chen, Devaraj, Hishinuma, first-year Rohit Jain, Kosseifi, first-year Konrad Kwiatkowski, sophomore Trey Lambright, Mahenthiran, senior Ben Martin, Plunkett, Salazar Garza, first-year Luke Saylor, sophomore Derek Shiffer, and Totorica – were named ITA Scholar-Athletes (awarded to athletes with a 3.5 or higher GPA for the academic year, while the squad, with a 3.834 combined GPA during the year, was named an ITA All-Academic Team. Eleven CWRU men's tennis players – Bhat, Devaraj, Hishinuma, Kosseifi, Lambright, Mahenthiran, Martin, Plunkett, junior Justin Prochnow, Salazar Garza, and Shiffer – received UAA Spring All-Academic Honors.
The Spartans earned the following awards during the 2024-25 season:
The following were the Spartans' wins leaders during the 2024-25 season:
The following Spartans were featured in the final ITA rankings:
