(Portions of this story taken from the Southwestern and Trinity Athletics Communication Departments)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- SCAC student-athletes wrapped up play this weekend at the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships, which were being held at the national campus of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in central Florida.
Southwestern University senior Hunter Bajoit defeated Case Western Reserve University's Ansh Shah in the first round of the Men's Tennis Singles Championship on Friday, becoming the first two-time All-American and all-time winningest player in program history. Shah entered the match undefeated against Division III opponents this spring, earning All-American honors at the Fall ITA Cup and the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year with a 29-6 overall record.
After dropping a grueling first set 7-6 where Shah found off three of five break points, Bajoit regrouped to take the next two sets 6-4, 6-3 for the win in a match that went two hours and 23 minutes.
Bajoit was defeated in the second round of the tournament, losing 6-0, 6-2 to fifth-seeded Peter Anker from Wesleyan, ending his season.
Bajoit's NCAA Tournament victory caps a remarkable career at Southwestern, ending with 132 career victories to surpass the Southwestern men's tennis record of 131, set by Alexis Dimanche '20. Bajoit earned his first All-American award last season after finishing ranked No. 17 in the nation and was the SCAC Co-Player-of-the-Year.
Trinity University senior Cameron Krimbill, who was ranked seventh nationally entering the championships, was defeated by Denison's Tim Cianciola in Friday's first round, falling in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The SCAC's two-time Player-of-the-Year, Krimbill had already earned All-America accolades this year based on his Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional title in the fall. He finished the year with a 12-5 overall record.
In doubles play, Trinity senior Christian Settles and junior Hao Nguyen picked up a straight-sets victory in Friday afternoon's doubles action in the first round of the NCAA III individual national championships.
The top-ranked west-region pair overcame a pair of 4-3 deficits with landslide rallies that led to three straight games in the 6-4 first-set mark and a statement 7-1 tiebreak in the second.
The duo, however, fell in the second round to Emory University's Andrew Esses and Nolan Shah, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to conclude the 2021-22 campaign. Saturday's matchup was a rematch of the line-one contest played in the NCAA III Regional finale on May 15 on the campus of University of Mary Washington as the Tiger duo earned that victory, 8-6.
For the season, Settles and Nguyen posted a 21-5 overall doubles record that featured a 17-3 mark in dual matches exclusively as the first-line entry. The pairing had already earned All-America status as Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Champions from last fall.