Johns Hopkins Falls 4-3 to Denison in NCAA Tennis Quarterfinal Thriller

Johns Hopkins men’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Denison in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Monday. Despite a valiant comeback and standout performances, the Blue Jays saw their season end in a third-set tiebreaker. Three players will continue competing at the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship.

Johns Hopkins Drops Heartbreaker to Denison in NCAA Quarters

CLAREMONT, CA – Johns Hopkins dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to second-ranked Denison in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Monday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The match was decided by a third-set tiebreaker, with the Blue Jays narrowly missing out on their first NCAA Semifinal appearance. Hopkins concludes its season at 16-8, while Denison improves to 25-2 and advances to the national semifinal.

Denison took the early lead by securing the doubles point. Andreas Chapides and Nick Meyers claimed the first win of the day with a 6-2 victory over Marco Azar and Mukundh Boopathi at third doubles. Ethan Green and Kael Shah, the nation’s second-ranked pair, clinched the point with a 6-3 win over Daniel Ardila and Dylan Blenkiron at first doubles. The second doubles match between Allen Gong and Chakor Rajendra and Denison’s Colin Gramley and Jacob Patterson was tied at 4-4 when play was halted.

Shah extended the Big Red’s lead to 2-0 by defeating Ardila 6-2, 6-2 at second singles. However, the Blue Jays mounted a strong comeback with three straight singles wins. Gong got Hopkins on the board with a 6-4, 6-2 win at fourth singles, followed by Azar's 7-5, 6-3 victory at sixth singles to level the match. Rajendra then gave Hopkins a 3-2 lead with a three-set upset over fourth-ranked Green. After splitting the first two sets 6-4, Rajendra dominated the third set 6-2 to take the match.

With Hopkins up 3-2, the final outcome hinged on courts three and five, both in decisive third sets. On court three, Patterson stopped the Blue Jays' momentum by defeating Blenkiron. Patterson won the first set 7-6, dropped the second 6-3, but closed out the third 6-3 to tie the overall score at 3-3.

Court five became the final battleground. Stoimenov won a tight first set 7-6, but Meyers responded with a dominant 6-1 second set. The third set came down to a tense tiebreak. Meyers led 5-3 before Stoimenov leveled the score at 5-5. Meyers then captured the final two points to seal the win for Denison and book a spot in the semifinal against third-ranked Tufts.

Hopkins now holds a 1-5 record in NCAA Quarterfinals, with four of those matches decided by just one point. This was the first NCAA Tournament meeting between the Blue Jays and the Big Red.

While the team season ends, individual competition continues. Chakor Rajendra, Daniel Ardila, and Dylan Blenkiron will represent Hopkins in the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship, beginning Friday, May 23.