Case Western Reserve University junior Matthew Plunkett pulled out a come-from-behind three-set win at fourth singles to clinch a berth into the NCAA Division III Championship match today (May 22) and complete the fourth-ranked Spartans’ 4-2 upset over top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Tuesday night at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.
The Spartans, who improved to 29-5, will now turn their attention toward the National Championship match today (May 22) at 8 p.m. ET in Claremont against a familiar foe in second-ranked Denison University, which bested third-ranked Tufts 4-1 in its semifinal match on Tuesday. This will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams, with Denison having won the previous two.
The Spartans will make their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Match, each of which has occurred in the last five years. CWRU won the National Championship in 2023 and was the runner-up in both 2021 and 2022.
Meanwhile, CWRU handed the Stags their first loss to a Division III opponent this season and put an end to their 31-match winning streak. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, hosting the NCAA Championship on its home court, ended its campaign with a 31-3 overall record.
The Stags won the first doubles match of the day to be decided with 15th-ranked Josh Kim and Advik Mareedu defeating first-years Leon Chen and Jon Totorica 6-0 in the second doubles contest. Junior Rohan Bhat and senior Ajay Mahenthiran answered with a 6-4 win over Warren Pham and Matthew Robinson in the third doubles match, shifting the focus to the first doubles court, where the point would be decided. The match would go to a tiebreaker, where 13th-ranked junior Anmay Devaraj and senior Casey Hishinuma were able to defeat the 14th-ranked pairing of Caleb Settles and Brandon Vu 7-6 (5), giving the Spartans the early 1-0 lead.