Seven-to-five job

In previous years, the men's tennis team finished seventh out of eight in the UAA conference championships - but not this year. This year, the Spartans refused to settle; instead, they were able to penetrate the rankings and finish fifth in the championship. The Spartans first matched up against the University of Chicago, then the University of Rochester, before finally playing New York University in the fifth-place match on April 18. "I am very proud that the boys were able to accomplish as much as they did this year," said Case head coach Todd Wojtkowski. "Our seniors really went out in a great way and worked harder than they ever thought imaginable for themselves."

The first match was against the nationally ranked No. 18 Chicago. The Spartans lost 7-2. However, the Spartans had an impressive highlight when senior Adam Erickson paired up with freshman Paul Smetona for an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles. Chicago's team would not go further after their win against the Spartans; they lost to No. 15 Carnegie Mellon University in the UAA third-place match.The Spartans bounced back quickly from their loss to Chicago with a win against Rochester. Not only did the Spartans win, but they swept No. 2 through no. 6 singles and No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Senior Allen Ye had an impressive double-threat contribution against Rochester, first by defeating Rochester's Brian Schmeer 6-2 and 6-0. Next, Ye paired up with fellow Erickson for an 8-1 victory in No. 2 doubles. Rochester has finished as the UAA runner up six times in the past, and most recently in 2005. This is the second time the Spartans faced Rochester this season, and in both cases the Spartans ended up on top.

After defeating Rochester, the Spartans continued on in the tournament to play New York University. NYU first played and defeated Brandeis University for their first match of the day, but were unable to keep a winning streak going as the Spartans decisively shut down the NYU squad. NYU could not gain a victory in either the first two completed singles matches or the three doubles matches. Because of this, the match was called at 5-0.

"I believe the UAA is the toughest Division III tennis conference," said NYU head coach Horace Choy before the championship, "and we need to play well this weekend." Allen Ye and Adam Erickson proved to be a dynamic duo in the UAA tournament; first, they snagged an 8-1 victory against Rochester, and then they also swept NYU in No. 2 doubles 8-0. Ye also defeated Calvin Chou of NYU in a singles match. Though Chou received two awards from the UAA this season as Men's Tennis Player of the Week, Ye was able to come out with the 6-4 win for the Spartans.

Said Ye: "It was the last match for me, Adam Erickson, and Kenny Nguyen, so placing so high for our last match together was definitely bittersweet. After I clinched that final match against NYU, I felt a lot of relief and regret."

The sweeping win against NYU secured the Spartans' fifth-place finish in the championship.

The entire championship ended in an upset. Emory had defeated WashU in each of the last three seasons to win the title; Emory had won 20 of the 21 previous men's tennis titles. This year, WashU changed the terms by beating Emory 5-4. With the tight victory, WashU extended its winning streak to a school record-breaking 16 matches. WashU also gains the automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Div. III Tournament, where they will be making their 10th straight appearance.

Spartan coach Wojtkowski hopes to see his team there alongside WashU in the near future. The Spartans, after all, finished 11-10. Though the record is close to .500, all of the losses were to talented and high-ranked teams: either nationally ranked in Div. III, or a Div. I squad. Not once did the Spartans lose a match to an unranked Div. III team.

"The season was a success because it brought our program forward in a direction in which we will keep heading, " says Wojtkowski. "Rebuilding an athletic program does take time and I am very anxious to do this."

Wojtkowski looks to the Spartan's victory against recent Div. I Horizon league champion, Butler, as an example of the type of success he expects to see from his team.

Said Wojtkowski: "The team had never been in a position to get wins like this in the past. . . we can indeed compete with any team in the country, but also need to work harder in order to execute the wins."

He hopes the team will break into the national top 25 in future seasons.