Men's tennis plays #5 UCLA close; beats Pacific 9-0

One of the best of Division III met one of the best of Division I on Tuesday in Westwood, as #5 UCLA defeated #3 CMS 4-0. The Stags returned to Claremont in the afternoon to defeat Pacific University 9-0, improving their record to 15-1 on the season.

In the doubles against the Bruins, CMS stayed even at #1 and #2 early in both pro-sets, whlle surrendering an opening game break at #3. Juniors Warren Wood (Del Mar, CA) and Joe Dorn (Washington D.C.) were broken at 2-all and then again at 4-6, giving UCLA's #1 team a chance to serve out the match and clinch the doubles point. However, the Stags broke back and held, before the Bruins' Giron served out the match for an 8-6 win. Skyler Butts (So. - Santa Ana, CA) and Neel Kotrappa (Sr. - La Verne, CA) suffered their first loss of 2014 at #3, while Nik Marino (Jr. - San Diego, CA) and Zhenya Pereverzin (Sr. Capt. - Clackamas, OR) were down 5-7 at #2 when their match was suspended.

In the singles, Wood faced Giron - winner of the Calabassas Futures two days earlier - at the #1 position, while Dorn played Clay Thompson - ranked #1 in singles in Division I - at the #2 spot. At #3, Marino played #33 Mackenzie McDonald, a qualifier at last summer's ATP World Tour Masters Series 1000 event in Cincinnati.  At 4-all, 30-all in the first set, Marino rolled his left ankle and then had to take a medical timeout, resulting in a point penalty and a 5-4 advantage for McDonald. With his mobility compromised, Marino fought hard but could only win two more games in a 6-4, 6-2 defeat. Minutes earlier, Thompson had defeated Dorn, leaving the Stags one match away from their first defeat of the year.

Down a set and two breaks to Giron, Wood kept the Stags alive by breaking twice and holding once to even the second set at 5-all. Meanwhile, Butts, Daniel Morkovine (Fr. - San Carlos, CA) and Pereverzin were battling at #4, #5, and #6 singles, each down a set but gaining momentum. Morkovine was at 4-5 deuce, and Pereverzin had three set points at 5-3, when Giron finally served out the second against Wood to clinch the victory for the Bruins.

Back at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center versus Pacific, CMS was dominant in taking all three doubles. Wood and Dorn were 8-1 winners against the fourth ranked doubles team in the west at #1. Butts and Kotrappa returned to winning ways with an 8-2 win at #2, while Pereverzin and Morkovine paired for the first time in an 8-0 shutout at #3.

In the singles, Butts trailed 2-3 at #2 before rattling off ten straight games for a 6-3, 6-0 win that put the Stags up 4-0. Sophomore Lestter Yeh (Arcadia, CA) then clinched the match for CMS at #3, with his 6-0, 6-2 victory. Freshmen Max Macey (Wilton, CT) and Glenn Hull (Brookings, OR) were also straight set winners at #4 and #5, remaining perfect against D3 singles competition along with  #1 Wood and #6 Kotrappa.

With the doubleheader split, CMS is now 15-1 overall and will face #2 Williams this Thursday at 5:00 PM in a re-match of the 2013 NCAA team championship match.

#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0) vs. #5 UCLA (4)
March 25, 2014 at Westwood, CA (LA Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Marcos Giron / Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) 8-6
2. Clay Thompson / Joe Di Giulio (UCLA) vs. Nikolas Marino / Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) 7-5, DNF
3. Gage Brymer / Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) 8-4

Singles
1. Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. Warren Wood (CMS) 6-3, 7-5
2. Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. Joe Dorn (CMS) 6-2, 6-2
3. Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Nikolas Marino (CMS) 6-4, 6-2
4. Gage Brymer (UCLA) vs. Skyler Butts (CMS) 7-5, 4-2, DNF
5. Joe Di Giulio (UCLA) vs. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) 6-4, 5-4, DNF
6. Ryoto Tachi (UCLA) vs. Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) 7-5, 3-5, DNF

Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 1,
Singles: 2, 3, 1

#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9) vs. Pacific (0)
March 25, 2014 at Claremont, CA (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) def. Troy Zuroske / Giancarlo Battaglia (Pacific) 8-1
2. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Grayson Frazier / Brennan Faith (Pacific) 8-2
3. Zhenya Pereverzin / Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Lorne Bulling / Clark Wininger (Pacific) 8-0

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Troy Zuroske (Pacific) 6-1, 6-3
2. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Giancarlo Battaglia (Pacific) 6-3, 6-0
3. Lestter Yeh (CMS) def. Brennan Faith (Pacific) 6-0, 6-2
4. Max Macey (CMS) def. Grayson Frazier (Pacific) 6-1, 6-4
5. Glenn Hull (CMS) def. Joshua Bernstein (Pacific) 7-6(4), 6-1
6. Neel Kotrappa (CMS) def. Clark Wininger (Pacific) 6-1, 6-4

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