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The No. 39 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team gave one of the top teams in the nation all it could handle Sunday in a 5-3 loss at No. 2 ranked Case Western Reserve in the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Warhawks (22-3 overall) wrapped up their fourth appearance in the NCAA Round of 16 in program history after winning the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship for the first time in program history. UW-W made its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 15 years.
UW-Whitewater won all three doubles matches against the Spartans (23-4) to take a 3-0 lead in the match.
Rory Calabria (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and
Cole Lindwall (Cottage Grove, Wis./Monona Grove) were first on the board with an 8-3 triumph at the second position.
John Zakowski (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) and
Alex Gray (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) finished next, posting an 8-7 (3) victory at the first position.
Ryan Mitchell (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and
Niclas Goltz (Freiburg, Germany/Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium) also won on a tiebreaker at the third slot, edging Max Vicario and Chaitanya Aduru 8-7 (3).
Case Western Reserve scored the next five points unanswered to win the dual.
Zakowski and Gray will represent the Warhawks at the NCAA Championship on May 27-29 in Orlando, Fla. The duo earned a spot in the doubles draw, while Zakowski will compete in the singles draw.
