The fifth-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team will face a familiar opponent in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship, when the Spartans take on fourth-ranked Denison University on Tuesday, May 19, at 11:00 a.m., at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Live Coverage
Tournament Website: https://sewaneetigers.com/feature/DIIINCAAtennischamps2026
Live Results: https://ioncourt.com/leagues/2026-diii-ncaa-mens-team-championship
Live Video: https://web.track.tennis/#/@public-j1CROdWvmj0/@public-j1CROdWvmj0/evt-iMfd_OcnXq4
The Spartans
CWRU, which stands at 28-8 overall this season, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship after placing second at the University Athletic Association Championship in late April. After receiving a first-round bye, the Spartans bested Ohio Northern 4-1 in the second round and 15th-ranked Mary Washington 4-0 in the third round.
The Spartans' lineup features the sixth-ranked doubles pairing in junior Trey Lambright and graduate student Bryce Ware, and the 25th- and 33rd-ranked singles players in junior Santiago Salazar Garza and senior Matthew Plunkett, respectively.
The Big Red
After dropping two matches at the ITA Indoor Nationals, Denison has reeled off 22 consecutive wins entering Tuesday's match and stands at 27-2 overall for the campaign. The Big Red reached the tournament by winning the NCAC Championship, and after receiving a first-round bye, bested 25th-ranked Carthage College 4-0 in the second round and 13th-ranked WashU 4-1 in the third round.
Denison has four nationally-ranked singles players in its lineup, including Kael Shah (fifth), Ethan Green (13th), Nick Meyers (31st), and Andreas Chapides (32nd), along with the third-ranked doubles pairing in Shah and Green.
Projected Lineups
Doubles
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Trey Lambright/Bryce Ware (CWRU) vs. Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison)
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Santiago Salazar Garza/Rowan Matorin (CWRU) vs. Jake Patterson/Wesley Huang (Denison)
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Rohan Bhat/Anmay Devaraj (CWRU) vs. Andreas Chapides/Nick Meyers (Denison)
Singles
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Santiago Salazar Garza (CWRU) vs. Ethan Green (Denison)
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Matthew Plunkett (CWRU) vs. Kael Shah (Denison)
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Anmay Devaraj (CWRU) vs. Jake Patterson (Denison)
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Ansh Shah (CWRU) vs. Andreas Chapides (Denison)
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Rowan Matorin (CWRU) vs. Nick Meyers (Denison)
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Bryce Ware (CWRU) vs. Aidan Borosko (Denison)
Matchup History
The CWRU-Denison matchup is rapidly becoming one of the best rivalries in Division III men's tennis. This will be the sixth meeting between the two teams over the last two seasons, including a meeting in the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship Match, which the Big Red won 4-2.
The two teams have split their two matchups this year, with the Spartans winning 4-3 in the third-place match at the ITA Indoor Nationals on February 22 (marking the last time that Denison has lost a match), and the Big Red claiming a 4-1 win on April 10. Over the course of the two matches, Lambright and Ware and Devaraj and Bhat have each claimed doubles wins against their counterparts, while Salazar Garza, Devaraj, Shah, Bhat, and Ware have each earned singles victories.
Next Up
The winning team will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the quarterfinal match between second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and eighth-ranked Emory. The semifinal match will be held at the Champions Club at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20. CWRU is 6-4 against Denison since the 2021 season.
Spartan Notes
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CWRU has faced five of the other seven teams in the quarterfinals (Denison, Emory, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, UChicago, and Swarthmore) at least once this season, going a combined 2-4 in those matches with wins against both Denison and Swarthmore.
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CWRU, making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, stands at 25-7 in postseason play. The Spartans won the NCAA Championship in 2023 and placed second in 2021, 2022, and 2025.
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This is the sixth-straight season that the Spartans have made the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship and the seventh time overall in program history. CWRU is 4-2 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal matches.
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CWRU now stands at 261-103 (.717) in singles play and 111-63 (.638) in doubles matches this season.
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The Spartans are 8-7 against top-25 teams this season, including a 4-4 record against opponents ranked in the top-10 nationally at the time of the match.
