TEMPE, AZ. – In what has been a tournament traditionally championed by some of the “blue-blood” programs from the Division III level, Case Western Reserve became just the eighth different Team Indoor Champion in the tournament’s over 20-year history this past season.
Bolstered by an energized home crowd, the Spartans were able to take home their program’s first team National Championship with a 5-1 win over the University of Chicago in the championship match.
Surging onto the Division III men’s tennis scene over these past few years, Case Western’s rise to the top has been hard-fought and full of trials and tribulations before the Spartans were finally able to reap the fruits of their labor this past spring.
Enter the 2022 Division III Indoor Champions as the top seed, Case had to battle off two storied DIII programs in Gustavus Adolphus and Trinity over the first two rounds to earn their spot into the championship match against Chicago.
In the championship match, the Spartans relied heavily on their experience to lead the charge, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead after the end of doubles play.
The 2022 NCAA Doubles Champions, James Hopper and Jonathan Powell picked up one of the biggest points of the day in doubles, taking down the No. 25 ranked doubles team from the top spot in a tightly contested 8-7 (7-4) match.
Capitalizing on the momentum from doubles, Case knew they only needed two wins out of the six singles matches to clinch the match and after taking four of the six first sets from UChicago, the Spartans were in the driver’s seat to claim their first National Title.
From court No. 3, top-ten nationally ranked player Ansh Shah was the first to pull the Spartans one point closer to victory as the freshman won 6-1, 6-3 over the No. 42 ranked player in the nation.
Just a few short minutes later on court No. 6, Powell was able to clinch the Championship for Case as the senior had his shining moment, winning 6-2, 6-4 as his teammates and coaches came running to his side in celebration.
The Championship marked the first time since 2008 that the host institution has claimed the Division III Men’s National Team Indoor Championship, as the Spartans continue to establish themselves as one of the top programs at the Division III level.
In 2023, the Division III Men’s Indoor Championship will head to Minnesota as Gustavus Adolphus takes their turn as hosts. Case will look to defend its title as the nation’s best will once again be in attendance looking for a national championship.
Road To The Championship
Opening Round: 8-1 win vs (8) Gustavus Adolphus
- No. 1 Doubles – Hopper/Powell (CWRU) def. Aney/Budde (GAC), 8-5
- No. 2 Doubles – Fouchier/Terakanambi (GAC) def. V. Aduru/Dayal (CWRU), 8-6
- No. 3 Doubles – C. Aduru/Sutanto (CWRU) def. Christensen/Elofson (GAC), 8-1
- No. 1 Singles – Hopper (CWRU) def. Raut (GAC), 6-0, 6-0
- No. 2 Singles – V. Aduru (CWRU) def. Aney (GAC), 6-2, 7-6
- No. 3 Singles – Shah (CWRU) def. Fouchier (GAC), 4-6, 6-2, 1-0
- No. 4 Singles – Sutanto (CWRU) def. Budde (GAC), 6-4, 6-1
- No. 5 Singles – C. Aduru (CWRU) def. Siviero (GAC), 6-0, 6-7, 1-0
- No. 6 Singles – Powell (CWRU) def. Wikstrom (GAC), 6-0, 6-1
Semifinals: 8-1 win vs (4) Trinity
- No. 1 Doubles – Hopper/Powell (CWRU) def. Settles/Nguyen (TU), 8-4
- No. 2 Doubles – V. Aduru/Dayal (CWRU) def. Krimbill/Hunter (TU), 8-4
- No. 3 Doubles – C. Aduru/Sutanto (CWRU) def. Azzalini/Hamilton (TU), 8-4
- No. 1 Singles – Krimbill (TU) def. Hopper (CWRU), 7-6, 2-6, 1-0
- No. 2 Singles – V. Aduru (CWRU) def. Nguyen (TU), 7-6, 4-6, 1-0
- No. 3 Singles – Shah (CWRU) def. Azzalini (TU), 6-1, 6-4
- No. 4 Singles – Sutanto (CWRU) def. Settles (TU), 6-4, 6-2
- No. 5 Singles – C. Aduru (CWRU) def. Hamilton (TU), 6-1, 6-2
- No. 6 Singles – Powell (CWRU) def. Liao (TU), 6-1, 6-3
Championship: 5-1 win vs (6) UChicago
- No. 1 Doubles – Hopper/Powell (CWRU) def. Alshon/Hsieh (UC), 8-7
- No. 2 Doubles – V. Aduru/Dayal (CWRU) def. Asokumar/Leonov (UC), 8-4
- No. 3 Doubles – C. Aduru/Sutanto (CWRU) def. Forgus/Otero (UC), 8-2
- No. 1 Singles – unfinished
- No. 2 Singles – Alshon (UC) def. V. Aduru (CWRU), 6-0, 6-1
- No. 3 Singles – Shah (CWRU) def. Hsieh (UC), 6-1, 6-3
- No. 4 Singles – unfinished
- No. 5 Singles – unfinished
- No. 6 Singles – Powell (CWRU) def. Michulka (UC), 6-2, 6-4
