Men's Tennis Advances to SCIAC Championship Match

CMS Stags Tennis converted at all six singles positions to erase a 2-1 deficit and defeat #16 Redlands 7-2 in the SCIAC Tournament semi-final match on Saturday. Mac Cahill (Jr. - Southport, CT [pictured right]) was one of three Stags to come back from a set down to earn a singles victory. Cahill's 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at #5 singles put CMS up 6-2 in matches.

The Stags' eighteenth victory of the season and seventh in conference play was far from comfortable. CMS earned its first point at #3 doubles, with Neel Kotrappa (So. - La Verne, CA) and Brandon Wei (Sr. - Lake Oswego, OR) improving their record to 18-2 this spring in an 8-2 win. However, CMS' lead was short-lived, as the Stags dropped two 8-5 decisions at the top two positions to trail the Bulldogs heading into singles.

With senior captain Robbie Erani (New York, NY) unable to play singles due to injury, freshman Cameron Bernhardt (San Diego, CA) was called into action to play at #6, while Nik Marino (Fr. - San Diego, CA), Alex Johnson (Jr. - Thousand Oaks, CA), and Cahill all moved up one position each to #3, #4, and #5 respectively. Marino was first to strike, dropping only four games at #3 to pull the Stags even at two matches all. Alex Lane's (Jr. - Claremont, CA) 6-4, 6-3 win at #2 was his twenty-first of the year, giving CMS a 3-2 lead. Johnson was next, breaking serve twice late in the second set to pull out a 6-3, 7-5 decision at #4. That left Cahill, Bernhardt and Warren Wood (Fr. - Del Mar, CA) all in a position to clinch for the Stags. Having lost the first and won the second set, Wood stayed on serve until five-all in the third, when his opponent took a medical time out for cramping at 30-40. After the time out, Wood converted the break point and the served out the match to clinch for the Stags. Cahill and Bernhardt then followed with 6-4 third set wins to complete the 7-2 score.

CMS will play #9 Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC Tournament championship match at 10:00 AM on Saturday.

#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #16 Redlands (2)
May 4, 2012 at Redlands, CA - SCIAC Tournament Semifinal (Verdieck Courts)

Doubles
1. Patrick Lipscomb / Mark Bloom (Redlands) def. Robbie Erani / Alex Lane (CMS) 8-5
2. Nick Cummins / Teddy Jones (Redlands) def. Warren Wood / Nik Marino (CMS) 8-5
3. Neel Kotrappa / Brandon Wei (CMS) def. Anish Nanda / Gram Leahy (Redlands) 8-2

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Patrick Lipscomb (Redlands) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Alex Lane (CMS) def. Nick Cummins (Redlands) 6-4, 6-3
3. Nik Marino (CMS) def. Mark Bloom (Redlands) 6-4, 6-0
4. Alex Johnson (CMS) def. Anish Nanda (Redlands) 6-3, 7-5
5. Mac Cahill (CMS) def. Jack Reynolds (Redlands) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Cameron Bernhardt (CMS) def. Darren Dahl (Redlands) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6