Men’s Full Bracket | Women’s Full Bracket | Men’s Championship Replay | Women’s Championship Replay
Claremont, CA – History was made this past week in Claremont as Denison University (men) and Washington University in St. Louis (women) each won their program’s first NCAA Division III Tennis Championship after three grueling matches in front of a fan-filled Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
In what was a final site full of upsets on both the men’s and women’s sides of play, teams such as Denison and Case Western Reserve were able to break through on the men’s side, while WashU and Pomona-Pitzer were strong all weekend to claim their spots in the final.
As two Ohio institutions, Denison and Case Western Reserve were very familiar with one another before meeting in the national final. Having already played twice this season, the Big Red entered the final with much confidence having won both previous meetings this season, winning both 4-2 over the Spartans.
Starting with doubles, Denison jumped all over Case Western as Colin Gramley and Jacob Patterson teamed up for a 6-1 victory at the No. 2 doubles position before the No. 2 ranked doubles team of Ethan Green and Kael Shah secured the doubles point with a 6-2 win at the No. 1 doubles position.
With momentum and confidence after doubles and their recent history with the Spartans, the Big Red would now head to singles play where they were hoping to end things quickly to claim their first national championship in program history.
Down but not out, Case Western earned two quick straight set victories on courts No. 3 and No. 5 before Denison claimed a straight set victory at No. 6 to level the match at 2-2 with three matches still on court. All going to a third set, Green at the No. 1 singles position was the next to clinch putting the Big Red is arms reach of the title. Now between court No. 2 and No. 4 in which Denison was up a break on both, it ultimately was Andreas Chapides who clinched the match with a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3 win on court four.
Capping of a historic season for Denison, the Big Red finished the year with a program-best 28-2 season record and won 20 straight matches to conclude the year. As an alum, head coach David Schilling now has reached 108 career victories at the helm of Denison in just five short years.
Moving attention over to the women’s final which proved just as exciting, the Bears and Sagehens were meeting for the first time all season in the national final after each took down top seeded teams to reach championship match.
In doubles, WashU relied on a strong performance from the No. 4 ranked doubles team in Eleanor Archer and Caitlin Bui at the No. 1 position as well as a needed upset from Amber Edmonds and Sam Slowik at the No. 2 position to claim the lone doubles point.
Backed by their home-state fans, the Sagehens did not backdown in singles, splitting the first four courts with WashU to make the match 3-2 in favor of the Bears with the final two matches entering a third set. Down to the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions, Amelia Poor for Pomona-Pitzer evened the match score at 3-3 before Nina Moravek delivered the decisive blow for WashU, clinching the national title to cap off a cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament.
The national title marked the 27th National Championship in WashU athletics history, but was just the first in program history for the women’s tennis team.
Continue reading below for a line-by-line match score from each championship match.
Men’s Championship Match Scores
Singles competition
1. #4 Ethan Green (DEN) def. #11 Ajay Mahenthiran (CWRU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. #3 Kael Shah (DEN) vs. #40 George Kosseifi (CWRU) 5-7, 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
3. #49 Anmay Devaraj (CWRU) def. #20 Jacob Patterson (DEN) 7-5, 6-1
4. Andreas Chapides (DEN) def. Matthew Plunkett (CWRU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-3
5. Casey Hishinuma (CWRU) def. Nick Meyers (DEN) 6-1, 6-3
6. Anthony Payiavlas (DEN) def. Santiago Salazar Garza (CWRU) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #2 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (DEN) def. #13 Casey Hishinuma/Anmay Devaraj (CWRU) 6-2
2. #16 Colin Gramley/Jacob Patterson (DEN) def. Leon Chen/Jon Totorica (CWRU) 6-1
3. Andreas Chapides/Nick Meyers (DEN) vs. Rohan Bhat/Ajay Mahenthiran (CWRU) 4-3, unfinished
Women’s Championship Match Scores
Singles competition
1. #4 Angie Zhou (PP) def. #35 Eleanor Archer (WASHU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #21 Lauren Rha (PP) def. #11 Cairlin Bui (WASHU) 7-6 (1), 6-3
3. #36 Eliana Hanna (WASHU) def. #41 Nyakiriri Kanefu (PP) 6-1, 6-2
4. #44 Ally Lin (WASHU) def. #22 Marissa Markey (PP) 7-5, 6-2
5. Amelia Poor (PP) def. Emily Chiasson (WASHU) 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3
6. Nina Moravek (WASHU) def. Leticia Bazua Vazquez (PP) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #4 Eleanor Archer/Caitlin Bui (WASHU) def. #5 Marissa Markey/Angie Zhou (PP) 6-3
2. Amber Edmonds/Sam Slowik (WASHU) def. #20 Nyakiriri Kanefu/Amelia Poor (PP) 6-2
3. Leticia Bazua Vazquez/Lauren Rha (PP) def. Eliana Hanna/Ally Lin (WASHU) 6-2
