Seven teams enter the UAA Championship nationally ranked with each of the top five seeds ranked among the top 13 teams in NCAA Division III.
Top-seeded Emory University (13-5, No. 2 ranking) has won 23 of the 27 men’s Association championships, including a streak of 19 consecutive from 1990 to 2008 and is focused on regaining the title for the first time since 2012. Last season marked the first time the Eagles did not reach the finals in tournament history, but this year’s team has been among the nation’s best all year. The Eagles, who have lost to only two NCAA Division III opponents, recorded wins over UAA rivals Washington and Carnegie Mellon at the ITA National Indoor Championships in February.
Second-seeded Washington University (16-4, No. 5 ranking) enters the tournament as two-time defending UAA champions. The Bears have faced 16 nationally ranked teams this season (12-4 record), including eight matches against other teams currently in the top-10. Five of the six singles players who were on last year’s championship team return for this year’s tournament.
Third-seeded Carnegie Mellon University (14-7, No. 10 ranking) reached the championship match for the first time last season and has overcome some early-season injuries to win eight of its last nine matches. The match that turned the Tartans’ season around was a 5-4 win over then top-ranked Trinity University on Mar. 11 and they have lost only once since.
Fourth-seeded Case Western Reserve University (15-9, No. 12 ranking) has won seven of its last eight matches against Division III opponents after a grueling schedule featuring nationally ranked opponents in Division II and III. The Spartans return only their top two singles players from last year’s team that reached the NCAA Division III Championship quarterfinals with Emory and Washington.
Fifth-seeded University of Chicago (14-4 No. 13 ranking) has dropped only three matches against Division III opponents, all by a 5-4 score, twice against top-five teams and all three against teams ranked amongst the top 12 teams in the nation. The Maroons have won eight matches against nationally ranked opponents , seven by a score of 7-2 or better.
Sixth-seeded Brandeis University (8-9, No. 29) has faced 11 nationally ranked opponents this season with impressive 6-3 wins over Chapman and Tufts. The Judges’ 6-3 win over NYU on Saturday gave them the sixth seed and secured an undefeated home season.
Seventh-seeded University of Rochester (8-8, No. 40) enters the UAA championship with five wins in their last seven matches. One of the losses was 5-4 when the Yellowjackets battled back from a 4-0 deficit to even the match. A thrilling 5-4 win over NYU gave Rochester the seventh seed.
Eighth-seeded NYU (3-7) won three matches in an abbreviated schedule that included two 5-4 losses, one of which was to Rochester.
Team-By-Team Preview
#1 Emory: Three Eagle seniors were members of the 2012 NCAA Division III champions and have set their sights on ending their careers the same way they started. Senior Alex Ruderman, the third-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South Region, earned first-team All-Association honors in last year’s championship. He and senior Ian Wagner are the top-ranked doubles team in the region. In addition to their on-court excellence, Ruderman and Wagner have each previously earned the UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Award, the highest award bestowed by the UAA for the combination of athletic and academic excellence. The other senior with a national title under his belt is Eric Halpern, who plays at No. 2 singles behind Ruderman and is the eighth-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South Region. Playing at No. 3 singles is one of the hottest players in all of Division III in junior Rafe Mosetick, who has won 15 consecutive singles matches and posted a 16-1 dual match record in the 2014-15 season. He and freshman David Omsky have won seven in a row and 12 of their last 13 at No. 3 doubles.
#2 Washington: The Bears return all three first-team All-Association players from last year’s team in addition to one of the nation’s top doubles team in senior Ross Putterman and sophomore Jeremy Bush. Putterman has earned No. 1 doubles All-UAA in each of the past two years and was a first-team choice at No. 2 singles two years ago. He is ranked seventh in the Central Region in singles, while he and Bush are ranked fifth in doubles in the region. Sophomore John Carswell, the fourth-ranked player in the region, earned Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors at last year’s UAA championship. Junior Tyler Kratky earned first-team All-Association honors a year ago and advanced to the ITA Small College National Championships final in the fall. Senior Kevin Chu has posted a 17-2 record in singles play this season after sweeping his matches at No. 6 singles in last year’s championship. He and freshman Jason Haugen are ranked eighth in doubles in the region with a 14-5 mark at No. 2 doubles. The Bears are 18-2 at No. 4 and No. 6 singles this season.
#3 Carnegie Mellon: The Tartans return two All-Association players from last year’s championship and a red-hot No. 1 singles player junior Abhishek Alla, who has won seven of his last eight matches, including the last three over players ranked no lower than sixth in the regional rankings. He is currently ranked fourth in the South Atlantic Region. Senior Will Duncan and sophomore Kiril Kirkov each garnered first-team honors a year ago. Kirkov is 15-3 in the 2014-15 season and undefeated at No. 5 singles. Senior Christian Heaney-Secord plays No. 2 singles and is ranked seventh in the region, while No. 4 singles player sophomore Kunal Wadwani is also regionally ranked. In doubles, Heaney-Secord and Duncan are ranked fourth in the region, while the duo of senior Bryce Beisswanger and junior Yuvraj Kumar have posted an 18-8 season record and advanced to the finals of the ITA Southeast Regional.
#4 Case Western Reserve: The Spartans are led by junior CJ Krimbill, the second-ranked player in the Central Region, and the program’s all-time leader in combined singles and doubles victories. Krimbill is 16-4 in dual matches this season and he and junior Louis Stuerke are the fourth-ranked doubles team in the region with a 17-4 mark at No. 1 doubles. Senior Will Drougas, the school’s all-time leader in singles victories, is ranked ninth in the region with a 14-7 dual-match record. Drougas has won seven consecutive matches against Division III opponents, having not dropped a singles match against a Division III opponent since Mar. 13 against third-ranked Pomona-Pitzer. The Spartans struggled in doubles earlier in the season, but have taken the lead into singles in eight consecutive matches against Division III opponents, including five sweeps.
#5 Chicago: The Maroons are led by freshman Nicolas Chua, who is the third-ranked singles player in the Central Region and began his career with the USTA/ITA Small College National Championships singles title in the fall. Chua is 25-7 this season with wins in 11 of his last 13 matches. Senior Ankur Bhargava has been phenomenal in doubles all season with a 19-3 mark with four different partners. He is set to team up with classmate Deepak Sabada at No. 1 doubles, where they have posted a 4-1 record. Sabada, who also plays No. 3 singles, is ranked 16th in singles in the region. Freshmen Peter Leung, Luke Tsai, and David Liu are a combined 57-16 in singles play and will compete in the No. 4-6 spots, respectively, at the UAA Championship. Liu has won 14 consecutive singles matches.
#6 Brandeis: The Judges won’t be new to tough competition heading into the UAA tournament after its consistently strong schedule this season. Sophomores Brian Granoff and Michael Arguello occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots and are both regionally ranked. Granoff is the seventh-ranked player in New England, while Arguello is ranked 19th. Arguello leads the team in singles (15) and doubles (14) wins this season with he and sophomore Jeff Cherkin ranked 13th in doubles in the Northeast Region, a region that features three of the top eight teams in the nation.
#7 Rochester: The Yellowjackets have a balanced lineup with all six players recording double-digit wins this season. Junior Ian Baranowski has posted a 17-9 record, including 10-6 in dual matches and 3-1 at No. 1 singles. Junior Ben Shapiro has won all three of his matches at No. 2 singles and sophomore Jonny Baker has won four of five matches at No. 3 singles. Senior Julian Danko has recorded a combined 19-8 doubles mark this season, including 5-1 with current No. 2 doubles partner sophomore Sam Leeman.
#8 NYU: The Violets have seen freshman Ian Combemale shine in dual-match play this year with an 8-2 mark, including 7-1 at No. 3 singles. Freshman Karan Goyle began his collegiate career by reaching the semifinals of the ITA Northeast Regional Championships in the fall., while junior Sidd Thangirala reached the third round.