Stags conquer the elements and No. 11 Redlands for 12th straight SCIAC title
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team (28-3, 10-0) claimed their 12th consecutive outright SCIAC title with a thrilling come-from-behind 5-3 victory over No. 11 Redlands on Saturday. The win was the Stags' 115th straight in conference play.
Morning rain in Claremont suspended play during the doubles matches of CMS' semifinal contest against fifth seeded Cal Lutheran. The decision was made at noon to move the remainder of the tournament to the renowned Indian Wells Tennis Garden, site of the BNP Paribas Open. When play resumed in the desert at just after 2 p.m., CMS earned a doubles sweep and straight set wins at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 6 singles to complete the 6-0 win over the Kingsmen and advance to the tournament final.
The championship match against Redlands began at 6:30 p.m. in windy conditions that rendered the contest nearly unplayable. And yet Redlands seemed unfazed by the wind, and avenged earlier losses at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to earn the doubles sweep.
Faced with their fourth doubles sweep by a ranked Division III opponent, and sand-laden wind gusts that made the simplest of service tosses and merely keeping the ball in play a challenge, the Stags set out with resolve to pull off another stunning comeback. Despite suffering early breaks at the No. 3 through No. 6 positions, CMS managed to take five of six first sets. The most crucial were at No. 1, where freshman Nikolai Parodi (CMC) won a tie-break against Redlands' Chase Lipscomb, and at No. 6, where freshman Daniel Park (CMC) trailed 5-4, but broke serve twice for a 7-5 first set win.
Senior captain Glenn Hull (CMC) earned CMS' first point with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 2, for his 21st singles victory of the season. Park then rattled off another six games to complete a 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 6 and narrow Redlands' advantage to 3-2. Senior Max Macey (CMC) pulled the Stags even with his 25th singles victory at the No. 4 spot, before senior captain Daniel Morkovine (CMC) put CMS ahead for good with his straight set win at No. 3.
With Parodi at No. 1, and junior Patrick Wildman (CMC) at No. 5 still battling, CMS would need one of them to win to complete the comeback and claim the tournament title. Having lost the second set, Parodi responded with a dominant 6-1 third set, and avenged an earlier season loss to Lipscomb, to give CMS the victory.
#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6) vs. Cal Lutheran (0)
May 6, 2017 at Indian Wells, CA (Indian Wells Tennis Garden) – SCIAC Tournament SF
Doubles
1. Daniel Morkovine / Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Dara Kashani / Jake Haffner (CLU) 8-3
2. Jake Berber / Glenn Hull (CMS) def. Lucas Tilly / Andrew Tufenkian (CLU) 8-2
3. Alex Brenner / Julian Gordy (CMS) def. Mike Sulahian / Sebastian Ariza (CLU) 8-2
Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) vs. Dara Kashani (CLU) 6-1, 5-4 DNF
2. Glenn Hull (CMS) def. Lucas Tilly (CLU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) vs. Jake Haffner (CLU) 6-2, 2-0 DNF
4. Max Macey (CMS) def. Mike Sulahian (CLU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Patrick Wildman (CMS) vs. Sebastian Ariza (CLU) 6-1, 3-2 DNF
6. Daniel Park (CMS) def. Andrew Tufenkian (CLU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 4, 2, 6
#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. #11 Redlands (3)
May 6, 2017 at Indian Wells, CA (Indian Wells Tennis Garden) – SCIAC Tournament Championship
Doubles
1. Joey Dulle / Jake Ly (UR) def. Daniel Morkovine / Nikolai Parodi (CMS) 8-6
2. Brad Cummins / Chase Lipscomb (UR) def. Jake Berber / Glenn Hull (CMS) 8-3
3. Parker Wilson / Tom Suchodolski (UR) def. Alex Brenner / Julian Gordy (CMS) 8-3
Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Chase Lipscomb (UR) 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-1
2. Glenn Hull (CMS) def. Parker Wilson (UR) 6-0, 6-3
3. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Joey Dulle (UR) 6-4, 6-3
4. Max Macey (CMS) def. Jake Ly (UR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Patrick Wildman (CMS) vs. Tom Suchodolski (UR) 2-6, 5-6 DNF
6. Daniel Park (CMS) def. Bryant Johnson (UR) 7-5, 6-0
Order of completion
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 2, 6, 4, 3, 1
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