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Southwestern University

Bajoit Earns All-American Honors, Makes History With Win

Bajoit Earns All-American Honors, Makes History With Win
Posted: May 27, 2022

ORLANDO — Hunter Bajoit defeated Case Western Reserve University's Ansh Shah in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles Championship, becoming the first two-time All-American and all-time winningest player in program history. 

"Becoming an All-American is such a difficult task," Southwestern head tennis coach Billy Porter says. "For Hunter to be able to do it two times with different paths of achieving it is incredible." 

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. Case Western's first-year fought off three of five break points in a grueling first set for a 7-6 victory. 

Bajoit showed his experience, regrouping to take the following two sets 6-4, 6-3 for the win in a match that went two hours and 23 minutes. 

"Hunter's resilience and experience were key today," Porter says. "He had set points in that first set on two different occasions and never let it get the best of him." 

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. 

He was the 2021 SCAC Co-Player of the Year and an All-SCAC First Team singles selection in all three years the SCAC had all-conference teams in his four-year career. He also made All-SCAC First Team in doubles in 2018 and 2021, the SCAC All-Tournament Team in 2019, 2021, and 2022, and was the SCAC Newcomer of the Year in 2019.

"As good a player as Hunter has been for us, his character is actually more impressive," Porter says. "He was mentored by some of the best in program history and took it upon himself to pass that down to the younger guys as he stepped into a leadership role."