The Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team faced Division I Cleveland State University (CSU) on Saturday, April 6.

The match was played in accordance to Division I scoring. Thus, doubles matches were played to six, and the team who won two of the three matches earned a point for the team score. CSU started strong with a 6-1 win at first doubles, besting the Spartan duo of third-year student Anthony Kanam and second-year teammate Jonathan Powell.

The Spartans needed to win the next match in order to have a chance to earn the doubles point, but the team was unable to pull out a win. CSU secured the doubles point with a win at third doubles. The pair of first-year Spartans Aaron Umen and Chaitanya Aduru fell 6-1 to their Viking opponents. The second doubles match did not finish. Third-year Zach Hennessey and second-year Matthew Chen were trailing 4-3 when the match was stopped.

The teams then headed into singles play. The Spartans won matches at fifth and sixth singles but fell in all the other matches. At fifth singles, Powell won 6-3, 6-3. The win was his 11th-consecutive singles win, improving his overall record to 18-2. Aduru won at sixth doubles by default. The match ended in a 5-2 Spartan loss, ending the team’s four-match winning streak.

The following morning, the Spartan men returned to the courts, facing Division III competition again. The team faced Kalamazoo College at the Carlton Courts.

The Spartans took an early lead with an 8-0 victory by Umen and Aduru at third doubles. Hennessey and Chen added to the lead with an 8-1 win at second doubles. The first doubles duo of Kanam and Powell fell 8-5 to their opponents, allowing the Hornets to pick up one point in doubles play. At the beginning of singles matches, the Spartans had a 2-1 lead.

To start singles play, Aduru earned a 6-1, 6-2 win at sixth singles. The Hornets won the next match when Kanam fell to his opponent at third singles. Third-year Sam Concannon was victorious at fifth singles, winning 6-2, 6-0. Powell followed with his 12th-consecutive singles win, besting his opponent 6-2, 6-3 at fourth singles. The win was enough to secure an overall CWRU win. The Spartans added to their win with two super-set wins by Chen at first singles and Umen at second singles.

The day ended in a 7-2 victory for the Spartans, bringing their overall record to 15-6 on the year. The victory was the fourth-straight victory for CWRU against ranked Division III teams and the fifth-straight win against Division III opposition in general.

The team next faces eighth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) and the top-ranked University of Chicago. The matches will take place on Saturday, April 13 in Chicago. The day will start early in the morning against WashU, followed by a late afternoon match against Chicago. The Spartans have previously competed against Chicago this season, falling 6-3 to the Maroons in February during the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Nationals.