From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The top-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team will be headed to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals for the third-straight year and fourth time overall in program history with a 5-1 win over 14th-ranked Denison University in the third round of the tournament at the Carlton Courts in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans extended their winning streak to 16-straight matches following the victory and improved to 25-0 against Division III teams this season. CWRU now stands at 14-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches and raised its season record to 30-4.
Denison fell to 26-4 following the loss, with two of their setbacks during the year coming against CWRU.
The Spartans came out of doubles with a 2-1 advantage as senior James Hopper and junior Vishwa Aduru, the top-ranked pairing in the region, bested Jack Bulger and Marc-Lennart Harms (ranked fifth in the region) 8-3 at no. 1 doubles, followed by an 8-5 win from seniors Diego Maza and Chris Provenzano (ranked 15th in the region) at no. 2 doubles over Ethan Green and Camden French. At third doubles, Denison's Zachary Portnoy and Andy Mackler defeated sophomore Ansh Shah and senior Michael Sutanto 8-6.
With his doubles win on Sunday, Hopper improved to 37-4 in doubles play for the season, matching his own program record for doubles victories in a season. It also marked the 121st doubles win of his career, moving him within two of former Spartan CJ Krimbill's program record.
In singles play, Hopper (ranked first in the region) earned a 6-3, 6-4 win in the first match over Kael Shah to put the Spartans in front 3-1. Sophomore Casey Hishinuma added a 7-5, 6-2 win at sixth singles over Andreas Chapides to put CWRU on the verge of clinching. Sophomore Ajay Mahenthiran would secure the match with a three-set win over Green at fifth singles, coming from behind for the 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph to write the Spartans' ticket to Orlando.
When play was stopped due to decision, Aduru led Bulger at second singles 7-6 (4), 5-1, Sutanto was even with Jacob Patterson at third singles 6-0, 2-6, 3-3, and Shah held a one-set lead over Mackler, 6-2, 6-6.
The Spartans will now turn their attention toward the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 13 at the USTA Campus in Orlando, Florida, where they will face the winner of the third-round match between ninth-ranked Chicago and 13th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus.
CWRU has appeared in the National Championship match in back-to-back years, placing second in both 2021 and 2022.