North quad kings

CMS Stags Tennis won all three of its matches in the Walla Walla quad hosted by Whitman College. The Stags defeated #15 Whitman and #6 Trinity University by 7-2 and 8-1 scores on Saturday, then completed the weekend sweep with a 9-0 win over #12 UC Santa Cruz on Sunday.

Warren Wood (Jr. - Del Mar, CA),Joe Dorn (Jr. - Washington D.C.) and Skyler Butts (So. - Santa Ana, CA) were undefeated in singles and doubles, going a combined 17-0 and leading the Stags to an impressive outdoor-indoor triumph over three of the best teams in the west. Wood and Dorn won all three matches at the #1 doubles position, but not without serious challenges along the way. Broken at love in the very first game against Whitman's top pair, Wood and Dorn broke back and then remained on serve before winning an important tie-break to give the Stags a 2-0 lead early. On Sunday against Santa Cruz's #1 team, Wood and Dorn came back from a two-break 5-2 deficit, winning seven of the last eight games to again put the Stags up 2-0. Meanwhile, Butts and partner Neel Kotrappa (Sr. - La Verne, CA) had a much easier time at the #3 position, winning 24 of 25 games in three pro-sets. Kotrappa is now 6-0 in doubles with four different partners, having only lost eight total games on the season.

The Stags were equally impressive with their singles, losing only two of eighteen matches on the weekend. Wood won two important tie-breakers and two close matches in CMS' wins over Whitman and Trinity. Against Whitman's Colton Malesovas, Wood trailed 5-2 in the second set, but prevailed in a tie-break. Against Trinity's Paxton Deuel - ranked #5 nationally - Wood saved three match points at 5-2 down in the third set, and then another two match points with Deuel serving at 5-3 for the match, only to again prevail in a tie-break. Wood capped off a 6-0 weekend with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win against Santa Cruz's Eli Scandalis on Sunday.

Dorn, Butts, Nik Marino (Jr. - San Diego, CA), and Zhenya Pereverzin (Sr. - Clackamas, OR) also had multiple singles wins without the loss of a set in the three dual matches. At #2 singles, Dorn defeated 2013 NCAA quarterfinalist and former #1 Aaron Skinner of Trinity, before avenging a 2013 Ojai loss to Santa Cruz's Max Littlejohn. Marino played #2 and #3 singles, defeating nationally ranked players Andrew La Cava of Whitman (#9) and Greg Haugen of Trinity (#34). Butts faced little opposition at the #3 and #4 positions, while Pereverzin needed two tie-breaks to win at #6 against Trinity's Connor Dunn.

CMS moves to 7-0 on the season and next faces Division I opponent Bryant University, followed by west regional opponent Hardin Simmons on Wednesday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. Match times are 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM, with the Hardin Simmons match streamed live.

#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #15 Whitman (2)
March 8, 2014 at Walla Walla, WA (Bratton Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) def. Colton Malesovas / Andrew La Cava (Whitman) 9-8(3)
2. Andy Riggs / Jake Hoeger (Whitman) def. Nikolas Marino / Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) 9-7
3. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Steven Roston / James Rivers (Whitman) 8-0

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Colton Malesovas (Whitman) 6-3, 7-6(4)
2. Nikolas Marino (CMS) def. Andrew La Cava (Whitman) 6-4, 6-3
3. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Andy Riggs (Whitman) 6-2, 6-3
4. Steven Roston (Whitman) def. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) 3-6, 7-5, (10-7)
5. Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Peter Jivkov (Whitman) 6-3, 6-2
6. Lestter Yeh (CMS) def. James Rivers (Whitman) 5-7, 7-5, (11-9)

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

#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8) vs. #6 Trinity University (1)
March 8, 2014 at Walla Walla, WA (Bratton Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) def. Paxton Deuel / Aaron Skinner (Trinity) 8-4
2. Nikolas Marino / Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Greg Haugen / Jordan Mayer (Trinity) 8-3
3. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Clayton Niess / Charlie Curtis (Trinity) 8-1

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Paxton Deuel (Trinity) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
2. Joe Dorn (CMS) def. Aaron Skinner (Trinity) 6-2, 6-4
3. Nikolas Marino (CMS) def. Greg Haugen (Trinity) 6-4, 6-4
4. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Nicolas Moreno (Trinity) 6-4, 6-4
5. Jordan Mayer (Trinity) def. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) 6-2, 6-2
6. Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def.Connor Dunn (Trinity) 7-6(3), 7-6(4)

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

#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9) vs. #12 UC Santa Cruz (0)
March 9, 2014 at Walla Walla, WA (Bratton Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) def. Eli Scandalis / Chris Goetz (UC Santa Cruz) 8-6
2. Nikolas Marino / Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Max Littlejohn / Garrett DeGuchi (UC Santa Cruz) 8-5
3. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Kyle Richter / Jimmy Soper (UC Santa Cruz) 8-0

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Eli Scandalis (UC Santa Cruz) 6-1, 6-0
2. Joe Dorn (CMS) def. Max Littlejohn (UC Santa Cruz) 6-3, 6-2
3. Nikolas Marino (CMS) def. Garrett DeGuchi (UC Santa Cruz) 6-1, 6-0
4. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Chris Goetz (UC Santa Cruz) 6-3, 6-2
5. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Sean Hollister (UC Santa Cruz) 6-0, 6-4
6. Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Jimmy Soper (UC Santa Cruz) 7-5, 6-2

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