Men’s tennis reflects on their recent Midwest Conference tournament performance

With two consecutive 7-0 wins in the Midwest Conference (MWC) tournament, Grinnell’s men’s tennis team went undefeated in 191 matches against Illinois College and Monmouth College on April 5 and 6, respectively. As their season will wrap up soon, Grinnell’s tennis athletes reflect on their season and continued expectations, as well as what their secret is for maintaining an unbeaten run continuing over 20 years.

“The MWC is something that we’re expected to win, and something that we know comfortably, and we’re confident of our level,” Aman Khotari `28 said, quickly realizing that winning the Midwest Conference is a standard for the tennis team.   

“At least in the past few, even probably the past 10 years, we’ve always been expected to win,” said Wilder Cooke `25, adding on to Khotari’s separate interview on his thoughts on the MWC. Nonetheless, Cooke said, “You can’t let that mentality make you play worse, because you’re just meeting expectations.”

Tennis players Khotari and Cooke, as well as Aiden Klass `25 and Luka Shaker-Check `25, have expressed that they have much higher goals than winning another MWC title, hoping to play tight matches or even beat some of the best Division III teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Luka Shaker-Check ’25 runs over to his teammates after the final set against Iowa Central Community College on Feburary 28, 2025. (Meilynn Smith)

Klass, who Wilder and Shaker-Check distinguish for his unique appearance on court –– usually appearing in “pink Lululemon shorts and a tank top,” instead of the team’s uniform, said, “Honestly, the most fun wins are not the ones where you destroy somebody, it’s where you’ve had a really close one battle through.” Klass added, “We beat a couple of well-ranked teams over the years, which was really nice.”

During Grinnell’s spring break, the tennis team travelled to California where they played some of the nation’s best-ranked Division III teams –– Pomona, Babson, Bowdoin and Middlebury, as well as Caltech and Salisbury, suffering consecutive losses. Nonetheless, Klass, Wilder and Kothari said they all see this as a vital experience to help them in future matches against top teams, as well as maintain their unbeaten run in the MWC.

Klass said that in his four years of experience playing tennis at Grinnell, this spring break was the hardest run he had. “Getting to the next level is a steep climb,” he said, one that involves improving upon mistakes. Similarly, Wilder said, “Tennis is all experience –– you look at the best players –– they played hundreds of tournaments when they were juniors.”

After spring break, Kothari shared that the team’s focus was on returning stronger and aiming to “prove our level and the tenacity that our team has.” He said he looks forward to the upcoming match against Lake Forest College on April 12, calling them Grinnell’s biggest rival in the MWC. But he was even more eager for the challenge against nationally-ranked University of Chicago the next day. 

“What we learned from spring break was that we were very close to getting to these very big teams,” he said. “And UChicago is a very big team too.”

Reflecting on the end of the season, Shaker-Check simply said, “It’s going to be a lot of fun.” He couldn’t give any predictions about what the season’s end might bring, but he was confident that, considering the team’s unbeaten run in the MWC, they were expected to make it to regionals. 

“We’ve had tough matches before, and I think we’re all excited to go into this last one and give it our all for each other,” Shaker-Check said. 

Kaan Mac Donald ’28 (left) and Alex Doane ’28 (right) hold up signs for Men’s Tennis Senior Day on February 28, 2025. (Meilynn Smith)