Quick PSA before we get to this UAA Rivalry. You have less than 24 hours to submit your DraftKings team!
A few years ago in advance of their NCAA quarterfinal, I reviewed the season by season history of Wash U and Emory. The Eagles and Bears are part of what most people consider to be the best rivalry in D3 tennis. If you were to round out the top three, I think there’s a good chance Case-CMU may come in at #3 right now after Amherst-Williams at #2. Certainly there have been other great rivalries (CMS-Cruz comes to mind), but at the moment, I’d have the ones I just mentioned as the top three.
In advance of the highly anticipated Indoors quarterfinal match, I wanted to look at a history of all matches between Case and CMU over the past six seasons so we can learn how this rivalry came to be where it is. In comparison to Wash U-Emory, Case-CMU is the little brother that’s not quite as successful but still very good. This rivalry has been blooming for several years and we will get another very important chapter in short order.
2010
UAA Tournament Quarterfinal: CMU d. Case 6-3
Year-End Finish: CMU 8, Case NR
I think you could make a fairly compelling argument to start this analysis in the 2011 season which was the first year Case was ranked nationally under Coach Todd, but 2010 was worth noting because the Spartans gave CMU a very hard time in the first round of the UAA tournament after stealing two of three doubles from a top 10 CMU squad. The Tartans would go on to finish top 8 in the country and would make their first and only Elite 8 in school history. While many could argue CMU peaked this season, Case was just getting started and that close quarterfinal was a sign of things to come.
2011
GLCA Tournament Semifinal: CMU d. Case 6-2
Year-End Finish: CMU 17, Case 19
Despite the fairly lopsided scoreline, Case was even more of a threat to beat CMU this time around. This took place in the semifinals of the GLCA tournament, which no longer exists. This was the first year Case was ranked and they would soon become a serious contender in the UAA. CMU would go on to fall in the final of the tournament to top seeded DePauw.
2012
UAA Tournament 3rd Place: Case d. CMU 6-3
Year-End Finish: CMU 19, Case 18
Surprisingly, both of these teams held a 3-0 doubles lead over eventual Final Four team Wash U during the 2012 season. If either had won their respective match, it’s likely that they would have made the NCAA tournament. However, both missed and they ended up playing for third place in the UAA the day after CMU blew their lead against Wash U. For NCAA standards, this was a relatively meaningless match, but in terms of the rivalry it was absolutely huge. Case achieved the goal that they had been working toward for several years and finally beat the Tartans in a match that had a couple close three set matches. Although I started looking at this rivalry in 2010, this was the match that began to turn things into the heated rivalry that we see today.
2013
UAA Tournament 3rd Place: Case d. CMU 6-3
Year-End Finish: CMU 19, Case 13
Case took things a step further the next year and beat CMU while qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time. CMU was forced to stay home from NCAAs for the third consecutive year. The teams were ranked 13 and 16 at the time of this match, so a CMU win could have swung NCAAs in their favor. However, the emergence of CJ Krimbill pushed Case to victory and they ended up losing a heartbreaker to Kenyon in the Sweet 16.
2014
Regular Season: CMU d. Case 5-4
NCAA Sweet 16: Case d. CMU 5-4
Year-End Finish: CMU 9, Case 8
If I were to make a list of the best 10 matches in the last five years, there’s an excellent chance that both of these matches would make the list. I said in my 2012 blurb that the rivalry turned heated after that year. Well in 2014, things went to a whole new level and this officially became one of the best and most talked about rivalries in D3. In the regular season match with Case ranked #8 and CMU ranked #11, Case rolled in doubles on their home courts, allowing the Tartans only nine total games in a 3-0 sweep. CMU stormed back in singles, winning three three-setters including two matches that ended 7-5 in the third set. Even though Krimbill won both matches, the theory after this match were that that Tartans had a little too much talent in singles for Case.
That theory ended up being debunked a little over a month later. Fresh off a UAA semifinal victory over Emory which is likely the best win in program history, CMU came into NCAAs red hot as the #5 overall seed. Case traveled to Pittsburgh as a pretty large underdog, but took a 2-1 lead in doubles. Case would go on to win the match 5-4 despite two losses from CJ Krimbill, which would have been a shocking prediction before the match. The Spartans won in three sets at both five and six singles to send them to their first and only NCAA Elite 8. After their best regular season ever, this loss really haunted the Tartans and I’m sure it was with them last year when they lost to Hopkins at home as the #5 overall seed once again. Case made a swift exit against Midd in the Elite 8, but even qualifying was a huge accomplishment for a program that was unranked four years prior.
2015
Regular Season: CMU d. Case 6-3
Year-End Finish: CMU 11, Case 14
This was a relatively anti-climactic year in the rivalry in which both teams missed NCAAs and there was only one match between the two teams. CMU took care of Case fairly routinely on their home courts. This was actually Case’s worst year-end ranking since 2012 and it was a little bit of a down year for the Spartans. CMU finished ranked #11 and missed the tournament thanks to the emergence of fellow UAA contender Chicago as a legitimate top 10 power.
2016
National Indoors 3rd Place: Case d. CMU 5-4
UAA Tournament Quarterfinal: CMU d. Case 6-3
Year-End Finish: CMU 7, Case 8
Both of these matches were very significant given how hotly contested Pool C was. Case got the upper hand on their home courts at Indoors even after trailing 2-1 post-doubles. Freshman Robert Stroup clinched with a dramatic three set victory and Case spent the rest of the season as a fixture in the top 10. This gave Case a leg up in the Pool C race as well as UAA seeding. The two rivals met yet again in the UAA quarterfinal. It was likely that both teams would qualify for NCAAs at the time, but there was still some uncertainty for the loser. Despite falling behind in doubles, CMU ran through the Spartans in singles for a relatively routine win. CMU ended up finishing 3rd in the UAA tournament and Case was 5th.
2011 – 2016 Average Year-End Finish: CMU 13.7, Case 13.3
TR.Net Recruiting Class Rankings:
2011 – CMU 3 and Case 17
2012 – CMU 5 and Case 17
2013 – CMU 5 and Case 14
2014 – CMU 5 and Case 11
2015 – CMU 5 and Case 15
2016 – CMU 5 and Case 16
Another interesting thing to note is how much stronger CMU’s recruiting classes have been. CMU hasn’t had a class outside the top 5 and Case hasn’t had a class inside the top 10, yet these two teams have been very evenly matched. While I would say this is not a good fact for CMU, it speaks to how strong Todd is with developing his players and how he gets his team to buy into his system and message. Despite not getting top players coming out of juniors, Case manages to stay competitive with the best teams in the country and they make up for their perceived lack of talent with hard work and desire.
Fascinating article. Thanks for posting this.