Both the women’s and men’s tennis teams played key games last week. The women earned a fourth-place finish at the Midwest Invitational, while the men lost a close contest to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Case Western Reserve University competed in the Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wis. on April 3-4, finishing with a 1-2 record. The team defeated University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, but then dropped competitions against DePauw University and the University of Chicago.

The Spartans beat UW-W in a 6-3 match on April 3, winning five of the six possible singles matches.

Standout freshman Nithya Kanagasegar won the first singles match in a nail biter in three sets, winning the last set 12-10. Wisconsin-Whitewater was only able to eke out a victory at the fourth singles spot.

The only Spartan doubles team to win was the third team, made up of junior Surya Khadilkar and sophomore Jennifer Lowe. Khadilkar was also the sole CWRU doubles winner on the day.

The next morning, the women’s team faced off against 14th-ranked DePauw, losing a close game 5-4.

The third doubles team continued their win streak, and Khadilkar was again the lone doubles winner.

Juniors Michelle Djohan and Sara Zargham scored the rest of the points for the Spartans, winning the number three and four matches, respectively.

The women’s team next travels to face Denison University on April 18, and from there has only one match until the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference championship.

In the afternoon, the CWRU team encountered a much tougher opponent in the Chicago Maroons, losing the contest 8-1 despite winning an encounter earlier in the season 5-4. The lone Spartan scorers were Zargham and Kanagasegar, winning the first doubles match 9-7.

On the men’s side, the team lost a 6-3 match against CWRU’s main rival, ninth-ranked CMU.

Although the Spartans won two of the three doubles matches, the Tartans secured the match in the singles games, taking the points in five of the six.

Senior Will Drougas earned the Spartan’s only victory in singles play, a two-set win over CMU’s Heaney-Secord.

The Spartans now only have a senior-day doubleheader against the College of Wooster and Oberlin College on April 19 before also competing in the UAA Championship and possibly the NCAA Division III Tournament.