From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
An unprecedented three members of the Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team were selected to receive College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors, as junior Vishwa Aduru was named to the first team, sophomore Ansh Shah was named to the second team, and senior James Hopper was named to the third team.
CWRU men's tennis players have now won 10 Academic All-America honors all-time, as the three joined former Spartans James Drougas (1984 and 1985), Scott Ameduri (1996), CJ Krimbill (2014 and 2016), and graduate student Matthew Chen (2020 and 2021) as Spartans who have claimed the honor. Aduru becomes the third Spartan ever to be named to the Academic All-America First Team along with Drougas in 1984 and 1985, and Krimbill in 2016.
With the three men's tennis players, 11 total CWRU athletes have earned Academic All-America honors, the most in a single academic year in program history. The Spartans had more players named to the CSC Division III Men's Tennis Academic All-America Teams than any other school, with CWRU accounting for three of the 18 total players named.
Aduru secured All-America honors for both his singles and doubles play this year after winning the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship and reaching the semifinals of the singles championship to cap off his outstanding season. He received All-University Athletic Association honors for his efforts at no. 2 singles and no. 1 doubles during the campaign, finishing the year with a 23-8 singles record and a 35-4 doubles mark. Included in his overall doubles record is a 22-0 mark with Hopper in the spring season. The duo also claimed the Division III Doubles Title at the ITA Cup in the fall. Aduru has a 3.968 cumulative grade point average as a computer science & economics dual major and has been a two-time UAA All-Academic and ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree.
Shah earned All-America honors for his play at singles last year and was named both the ITA Central Region and UAA Rookie of the Year in 2022. He holds a career record of 52-13 in singles matches and 32-9 in doubles contests. This year, he has gone 23-6 in singles play and 18-6 in doubles matches. Shah has a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average as a biology major and has received UAA All-Academic and ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Hopper is coming off one of the best individual seasons in program history, earning All-America honors for both singles and doubles for the fourth-straight season after winning the NCAA DIII Doubles Championship with Aduru and reaching the quarterfinals of the singles draw. He became the second CWRU men's tennis player ever to garner UAA Most Valuable Player honors and was named to the All-UAA First Team for his play at no. 1 singles and doubles. He finished the season with a 44-4 doubles record, setting a program record for doubles wins in a campaign, while also finishing his career as the program's all-time leader in doubles wins and winning percentage with a 128-13 record. In singles matches, he wet 28-4 (just two singles wins away from the program record) to improve to 82-19 over his career, the fourth-most wins and seventh-best winning percentage in team history. Hopper owns a 3.561 cumulative grade point average as a biomedical engineering major and has been named to the UAA All-Academic Team and an ITA Scholar-Athlete three times.
The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes tennis honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. The Division III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions III Academic All-America programs.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at their current institution, and be selected to an Academic All-District team.
The Spartans won the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship earlier in May, capping off a historic season for the program with the first-ever NCAA team title in the history of CWRU Athletics. The Spartans set a program record with a 33-4 mark while winning the ITA Indoor National Championship for the second-straight year and the UAA Championship for the first time in program history.