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A pair of newcomers joined the national champions club.

The Denison men and Washington University in St. Louis women both captured their first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship titles at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.

No. 2 Denison beat No. 4 Case Western Reserve University 4-2 in an all-Ohio final on Thursday night for the first national title in the program’s 71-year history. On Friday night, No. 10 WashU held off a furious comeback attempt by No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer to beat the Sagehens 4-3 for the first title in the program’s 37-year history.

“Winning the national title means everything to our program,” said Denison head coach David Schilling, a Big Red alumnus. “When I started as the coach at Denison a little under five years ago, we discussed competing for national championships. We wanted to be in parallel with our swimming programs at Denison, which have won many national championships. Everyone told me it was an outrageous goal and that I should set more ‘realistic goals.’ However, I have such love for my alma mater that I felt it was realistic.”

Both defending national champion UChicago teams lost in the quarterfinals. The top-seeded UChicago women were upset by WashU 4-3 and the No. 4 UChicago men lost to Case Western 4-2.

Big Red machine

The Big Red finished the season with a program-best 28-2 record, including a program-record 20-match winning streak at the end.

Denison beat Case Western 4-2 in all three meetings between the teams this season. The third win had the most meaning considering the stakes.

After Denison captured the doubles point, Case Western (29-5) made a strong early push by jumping ahead in several singles matches. The Spartans grabbed a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-3 victory by Casey Hishinuma over Nick Meyers on court five and a 7-5, 6-1 win by Anmay Devaraj over Jacob Patterson on court three.

Denison’s Anthony Payiavlas knotted the match 2-2 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Salazar Garza at court six. Ethan Green put the Big Red back on top, rallying to beat Ajay Mahenthiran 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 on court one. Andreas Chapides clinched the historic title for Denison with a 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-3 win over Matthew Plunkett on court four.

Case is making its fourth appearance in the championship match, each of which has occurred in the last five years. The Spartans won the title in 2023 and were runners-up in 2021 and 2022.

Under Schilling’s guidance, Denison has made steady progress in reaching the mountaintop of Division III. The Big Red reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 2022, and advanced to the Elite Eight last season before losing to eventual champion UChicago.

In the semifinals, Case Western upset No. 1 CMS 4-2 to snap its 31-match winning streak and hand the Stags their first loss to a Division III opponent this season. In the other semifinal, Denison beat No. 3 Tufts 4-1 for the first win over the Jumbos in program history.

Cinderella run

WashU (18-7) caught fire late in the season to cap its remarkable title run with a victory over Pomona-Pitzer (17-8), which was playing close to home.

WashU won the doubles point and took a 3-1 lead with singles victories from Eliana Hanna and Ally Lin to put the Bears one point away from securing the historic title. But the Sagehens didn’t go down without a fight.

Lauren Rha and Amelia Poor pulled out victories for Pomona-Pitzer to knot the match 3-3. Junior Nina Moravek took the starring role for WashU, rallying to beat Leticia Bazua Vazquez 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 on court six to clinch the crown.

Prior to this season, WashU had never advanced beyond the Elite Eight. The Bears were eliminated last season by Pomona-Pitzer 5-0, but avenged the loss in the biggest match this season to finally lift the trophy.

In the semifinals, Pomona-Pitzer beat Emory 4-1 and WashU beat Johns Hopkins 4-1.

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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].