Men's Tennis | 1/28/2026 12:21:00 PM

Granville, Ohio - The Big Red men's tennis squad will look to replicate last years' success, as they won the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship over Case Western Reserve University 4-2. The preseason NCAC No. 1 squad brings back much of their talent from last year in their pursuit to bring another title back to Granville.

2024-25 Recap:

In the fall outdoor season, Denison would host the Denison Invitational and compete in the Kenyon Invitational and Skidmore Invitational. At the ITA Central Regional Championships, senior Ethan Green would be crowned champion after defeating Ansh Shah of Case Western Reserve in three sets. That momentum would continue into the ITA Cup, where Green and fellow doubles partner Kael Shah competed in the tournament. Both individuals would have incredible runs, as Green was the runner-up in singles and would be runner-up in doubles with Shah. In the start of the new year, Denison would defeat DePauw 6-1 in the first win of their undefeated regular season conference slate. They then would travel to St. Peter, Minnesota to take part in the ITA Indoor Championships. There, the Big Red finished third, defeating Case Western Reserve 4-2 in what would be the first of their three matches. After defeating No. 9 Swarthmore, Denison would face eight top-50 ranked teams, and they would go 7-1 with their only loss coming to No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Heading into the thick of NCAC play, the Big Red would dominate, going 7-0 in the regular season while also besting No. 11 Trinity University (Texas), No. 6 Case Western Reserve, and No. 26 Carnegie Mellon. No time was wasted in the NCAC Tournament, as Denison made quick work of Wabash before defeating Kenyon 4-1 to claim their fifth-straight championship title and 12th overall. Denison would host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and would head into the tournament with a 15-game winning streak. 

Denison received a bye in the first round, then made quick work of Greenville, defeating them 4-0. In the third round, Denison would face a rematch in Swarthmore, and they gave the Big Red some trouble early on, but they would pull one out 4-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, the team would face Johns Hopkins, and the Blue Jays would give the Big Red their toughest battle yet, as it came down to the final match, in which Nick Meyers won 6-7, 6-1, 7 (7) - 6 (5) to send Denison to the semifinals. In a 4-1 win over Tufts in the semifinals, it was the third and final match between Denison and Case Western Reserve, and once again the Big Red prevailed in a massive way, taking home the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis National Championship in a 4-2 decision. It was the first national championship in school history, and capped off a season going 28-2 with a 20-game winning streak. The season might have been over, but three Big Red individuals were selected to participate in the singles championship and doubles championship. Jacob Patterson and Green all participated, while Shah advanced all the way to the championship match, where he was runner-up. In doubles, Green and Shah advanced to the second round before bowing out. The team boasted five All-NCAC recipients in singles, and three doubles were named all-conference as well. Green was named Player of the Year, and his partner Shah would be honored their second-consecutive Doubles Team of the Year honor. Three players were named ITA All-Americans in Green, Shah, and Jacob Patterson, and eight were named ITA Scholar-Athletes. Coach David Schilling received some accolades of his own, as he was named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year and secured his 100th win as the Denison Head Coach in a 4-0 win over Kenyon College on April 16, 2025.

2026 NCAC Preseason Poll
 

2026 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Coaches' Poll
Place	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Points
1	Denison (9)	81
2	Kenyon	72
3	DePauw	62
4	Wabash	51
5	Oberlin	49
6	Wooster	29
7	Ohio Wesleyan	28
8	John Carroll	22
9	Wittenberg	11

Returning All-Conference/All-Americans

• Ethan Green - NCAC Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, First Team All-NCAC (Singles, Doubles), ITA All-American
• Kael Shah - Doubles Team of the Year, First Team All-NCAC (Singles, Doubles), ITA All-American
• Jacob Patterson - First Team All-NCAC (Singles), Second Team All-NCAC (Doubles), ITA All-American
• Andreas Chapides - Second Team All-NCAC (Doubles), Third Team All-NCAC (Singles)
• Nick Meyers - NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Second Team All-NCAC (Singles, Doubles)

Staying Hot in the Fall: The Big Red got their season started in the fall semester, as the Big Red hosted two invitationals and traveled to Skidmore College. Ethan Green and Kael Shah were dominant in the ITA Central Regional Championships, as the teammates met each other in the championship and instead of playing their match at host Kalamazoo College, they decided to move it to Granville in front of a home crowd. Shah took home the crown, winning 6-4, 6-2. The two then traveled to Rome, Georgia to compete in the ITA Cup, where Green advanced to the quarterfinals, while Shah was defeated in the semifinals. The two picked up more hardware, earning ITA All-American honors.

A Look at the Schedule

Denison kicks things off at home with an NCAC doubleheader against Wooster and Wabash on January 31. They travel to St. Peter, Minnesota for the ITA Indoor Championships where they face off against Gustavus Adolphus in the first round in part of a three-day tournament. After ITA's, the Big Red return home to take on Swarthmore and Centre in a Saturday doubleheader on February 28. They then will go on their spring break trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where they will take on three top-35 ranked opponents (#13 Amherst, #24 Wesleyan, #35 North Carolina Wesleyan). Returning from their trip, Denison will start to get into the thick of NCAC play, where they will host Wittenberg (April 12) and Ohio Wesleyan (April 18) before rounding out the regular season at Kenyon. The NCAC Championship will take place from April 24-26. 
 

Date	Location	Opponent	Time
1/31/26	Granville, Ohio	Wooster/Wabash	10 AM / 2 PM
2/6/26	St. Louis, Mo.	Washington University	6 PM (ET)
2/13/26	Greencastle, Ind.	DePauw	12 PM
2/20/26	St. Peter, Minn.	Gustavus Adolphus	7:30 PM (ET)
2/21/26	St. Peter, Minn.	Chicago OR Emory	TBA
2/22/26	St. Peter, Minn.	TBA	TBA
2/28/26	Granville, Ohio	Swarthmore/Centre	10 AM / 3 PM
3/17/26	Hilton Head, S.C.	Wesleyan/Oneota	TBA/TBA
3/18/26	Hilton Head, S.C.	Amherst	TBA
3/19/26	Hilton Head, S.C.	North Carolina Wesleyan	TBA
3/28/26	Cleveland, Ohio	Emory	10 AM
4/4/26	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Carnegie Mellon	1 PM
4/10/26	Wooster, Ohio	CWRU/Oberlin	10 AM/ 4 PM
4/11/26	Cleveland, Ohio	John Carroll	1 PM
4/12/26	Granville, Ohio	ONU/Wittenberg/Otterbein	10 AM / 1 PM / 4 PM
4/18/26	Granville/Gambier, Ohio	Ohio Wesleyan/ Kenyon	10 AM / 3 PM
4/24-26/26	TBA	NCAC Championships	TBA