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There were many victories for the Case Western Reserve University men’s program over the last few years. But it was the losses that haunted the Spartans, what pushed them through the early-morning workouts and extra practice sessions.

Because for all they had achieved on the court, the biggest prize remained elusive. Case Western had never won an NCAA Division III team title. The Spartans had won several conference titles, two straight ITA National Indoor titles and NCAA individual titles, but they never got to lift the NCAA trophy as an entire group.

That finally changed on Tuesday night.

For the first time in program history, Case Western captured the team title at the NCAA Division III Championships with a 5-2 victory over No. 2 Tufts University at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

Not only was the breakthrough historic for the program, but for the entire university. It was the first Division III title of any kind for a Case Western Reserve athletic team, a span that dates over a century.

The top-seeded Spartans (33-4) had reached the final the last two years, losing to UChicago and Emory. Last season’s loss to UChicago was particularly painful for James Hopper. The Case Western senior was on the wrong side of the deciding match that set off the celebration for UChicago.

The tables were turned this year. Hopper, a multiple-time All-American and catalyst for the program’s recent rise back to national prominence, clinched the historic NCAA title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Rishabh Sharda at No. 1 singles.

“For years now I have dreamed of it. I think everybody does, dreaming about clinching a national title, yet alone winning it for the team,” Hopper said. “It’s a super special moment, and I couldn’t think of a better way to leave Case.”

The Division III women’s champions weren’t new to the stage, but the celebration was just as sweet. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defended its title with a 5-3 victory over UChicago on Wednesday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.

It was a rematch of last year’s final, and the second-ranked Athenas (27-1) prevailed again to end the season on a 23-match winning streak and secure the program’s third NCAA title all time, which have all come since 2018.

The Athenas only loss this season came at the hands of top-ranked UChicago at the ITA National Indoor Championship in March. CMS returned the favor by delivering the Maroons (23-1) their only loss of the season.

CMS had a more challenging road to this year’s title, including 5-4 wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Amherst in the regional final and quarterfinals, respectively.

The Athenas led UChicago 2-1 after doubles. Nikolina Batoshvili and Alisha Chulani rallied from down two breaks to beat UChicago’s Shianna Guo and Sylwia Mikos 8-5 at No 1 for the second point.

Sena Selby gave CMS a 3-1 lead with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Brooke Pederson at No. 4 singles. UChicago tied the match 3-3 with straight-set wins by Guo at No. 2 singles and Nicole Geller at No. 3 singles. Lindsay Eisenman put the Athenas back in front for good, beating Claudia Ng 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles.

Meanwhile, Batoshvili and Chulani were locked in three-setters. Batoshvili completed her rally first at the No. 5 spot, clinching the second straight NCAA title for the Athenas with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win over Miranda Yuan.

Without any seniors on the roster, CMS will be in a strong position to three-peat next year.

“Proud of my team. They played tremendous physical tennis this whole tournament. And they rose to every occasion in every close match,” CMS head coach David Schwarz said. “Every day had a different hero. It was a true team effort.”

Case Western’s title preparation started long before this year. The Spartans spent part of the pandemic watching “The Last Dance,” a documentary about Michael Jordan that detailed how long it took the Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame guard to finally win his first NBA title.

“Before they got over the hump, he changed everything about the way he trained. He doubled down, and that is what we did,” Case Western head coach Todd Wojtkowski said. “We changed so much about how we trained. We started giving up a lot more of our personal lives to do more things for the betterment of the team.”

Case Western got off to a strong start against Tufts, sweeping all three doubles matches. Seniors Chris Provenzano and Diego Maza beat Josh Belandres and Sharda 8-3 at No. 2 doubles and Hopper and junior Vishwa Aduru defeated Derin Acaroglu and Vuk Vuksanovic 8-3 at No. 1 doubles.

Wojtkowski made a change to lineup at No. 3 doubles, which had been a trouble spot throughout the NCAA tournament. He inserted junior Sahil Dayal and sophomore Ansh Shah for the first time. They made the move look smart by beating Alex Ganchev and Jack Moldenhauer 8-6.

“We take so much pride in doubles,” Wotjkowski said. “I always say where you can find out where all the coaching and development happens is on the doubles court, because there is so much strategy involved and so much practice. Most kids don’t grow up working on that.”

Tufts (24-2) answered with the first win in singles as Acaroglu beat Shah 6-2, 6-2 at No 4. Case Western’s Ajay Mahenthiran put the Spartans one win away from the title with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Javier Gonzalez.

Taking in all the action courtside were the Michigan and Virginia men’s teams. The NCAA is holding a combined championship this year, with Division I, II and III all playing at the USTA National Campus.

“How cool is that to have two of the final eight (Division I) teams literally on the sideline rooting for our guys. That is unbelievable,” Wojtkowski said. “I have envisioned that for the past 364 days. All I thought is we just have to get there. If we get there, I know it will happen.”

Tufts didn’t make it easy for Case Western. Andrej Djokic beat Casey Hishinuma 6-3, 7-6 to cut the deficit to 4-2. It fittingly gave the chance for Hopper to clinch the title. He turned last season’s heartbreak into this season’s history to set off a cathartic celebration by the Spartans.

The 33 wins are the most in program history. Hopper’s doubles win was the 124th of his career, giving him sole possession of first place in the program record books. Case Western’s senior class finished with a 90-13 record over the last four seasons.

But it was the NCAA title that mattered most. After years of disappointments, the Spartans finally hoisted the trophy together.

“Someone has to pinch me. I feel like I am still dreaming,” Hopper said. “Crazy, crazy way to end.”

Men’s Final

Case Western Reserve 5, Tufts University 2

Doubles

1. #1 James Hopper/Vishwa Aduru (CWR-M) def. #2 Derin Acaroglu/Vuk Vuksanovic (TUFTSMT) 8-3

2. Chris Provenzano/Diego Maza (CWR-M) def. Josh Belandres/Rishabh Sharda (TUFTSMT) 8-3

3. Sahil Dayal/Ansh Shah (CWR-M) def. Alex Ganchev/Jack Moldenhauer (TUFTSMT) 8-6

Order of finish: 2,1,3

Singles

1. #34 James Hopper (CWR-M) def. Rishabh Sharda (TUFTSMT) 6-4, 6-4

2. #40 Vishwa Aduru (CWR-M) vs. Vuk Vuksanovic (TUFTSMT) 6-4, 4-6, 1-1, unfinished

3. Michael Sutanto (CWR-M) vs. #44 Alex Ganchev (TUFTSMT) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished

4. #24 Derin Acaroglu (TUFTSMT) def. #18 Ansh Shah (CWR-M) 6-2, 6-2

5. Ajay Mahenthiran (CWR-M) def. Javier Gonzalez (TUFTSMT) 6-1, 6-2

6. Andrej Djokic (TUFTSMT) def. Casey Hishinuma (CWR-M) 6-3, 7-6

Order of finish: 4,5,6,1

Women’s Final

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5, University of Chicago 3

Doubles

1. Nikolina Batoshvili/Alisha Chulani (CMS) def. #2 Guo, Shianna/Mikos, Sylwia (UC) 8-5

2. #3 Ng, Claudia/Wang, Perene (UC) def. Sena Selby/Katherine Wurster (CMS) 8-5

3. Ella Brissett/Lindsay Eisenman (CMS) def. Geller, Nicole/Khou, Lauren (UC) 8-5

Order of finish: 3,1,2

Singles

1. #1 Mikos, Sylwia (UC) vs. #37 Alisha Chulani (CMS) 6-4, 0-6, 2-4, unfinished

2. #33 Guo, Shianna (UC) def. Audrey Yoon (CMS) 6-3, 6-2

3. #21 Geller, Nicole (UC) def. #41 Ella Brissett (CMS) 6-4, 6-1

4. #20 Sena Selby (CMS) def. Pedersen, Brooke (UC) 6-0, 6-3

5. Nikolina Batoshvili (CMS) def. #15 Yuan, Miranda (UC) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0

6. #24 Lindsay Eisenman (CMS) def. Ng, Claudia (UC) 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: 4,3,2,6,5

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].