Case Western Reserve and Coach Todd Wojtkowski, USPTA professional win NCAA DIII Championship

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 ”

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, USPTA professional 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