Men’s Tennis NCAA Regional Preview
CLAREMONT, Calif. – All four teams selected to participate in the Claremont Regional of the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships are ranked in the top-25 and received First Round byes. The teams converge on the Biszantz Family Tennis Center May 12-13 with the winner advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Both Second Round matchups occur at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, May 12. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps faces Texas-Tyler on the upper courts while Whitman and Trinity square off on courts 7-12. The regional final will be played at the same time on Saturday, May 13.
The No. 23 Patriots (19-6) are coming off winning their fourth straight American Southwest Conference Championship and enter the tournament on a five-match winning streak. UT Tyler dropped a hard-fought 5-4 decision against Whitman on April 9 and a 7-2 match against Trinity two days earlier. UT Tyler is led by Arthur Fagundes who is 14-1 on the season in first singles play. Named the ASC Championship MVP and ASC East Division Player of the Year, Fagundes ranked No. 9 in the nation and partners with Jose McIntyre at No. 1 doubles.
The No. 14 Whitman Blues won their 10th consecutive Northwest Conference Tournament title after sweeping through conference play. Of its six losses, three were against NCAA DI teams and the others were against then-ranked D-III teams – two of which, Trinity and Bowdoin College, are in the DIII national tournament. Whitman is led by Zach Hewlin who is the two-time NWC Player of the Year. In doubles play, Hewlin pairs with Petar Jivkov at the No. 2 spot.
The 13th-ranked Trinity University (16-10) earned their 24th berth to the NCAA postseason event by winning its eighth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, 22nd in program history. The Tigers faced Southwestern (Tex.) for the third year in a row in the conference title match. TU dropped one doubles match but then came back in singles with more fire power for the 5-1 victory over the Pirates. The doubles team of Matt Tyler and Wilson Lambeth who are 14-0 on the season and top-ranked in the West Region.
The No. 3 Stags are 28-3 on the season and are 21-0 on their home court entering the tournament. CMS beat Redlands 5-3 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend to capture the automatic qualification. The Stags have now won 115 consecutive SCIAC matches. The Stags have beaten Trinity this season, earning the 6-3 win in while in Austin. The team is highlighted by the singles play of Nikolai Parodi (CMC) and Glenn Hull (CMC). Parodi, a freshman, recently paired with senior Daniel Morkovine (CMC) to play No. 1 doubles and won the Ojai crown a few weeks ago.
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
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