Doubles sweep bodes well for Stags
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – For the second time in three years, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis program advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament after a hard-fought 5-0 victory over No. 5 Wesleyan on Monday evening. In the last meeting between the two teams, the No. 3 Stags struggled in doubles as they had to come back from a 2-1 deficit to win their match. This time CMS reconfigured its doubles setup and swept through 3-0, setting the tone for a controlling victory.
Senior Glenn Hull (CMC) and freshman Jake Berber (CMC) came back from a 6-5 deficit and battled back to a tough 8-6 win in their No. 2 doubles match while No. 1 pair senior Daniel Morkovine (CMC) and freshman Nikolai Parodi (CMC) followed with an 8-4 victory. After holding a 7-2 lead, sophomore Julian Gordy (CMC) and freshman Jake Williams (HMC) managed to hold off a rally from the Cardinals to win 8-6.
Parodi managed to avenge his loss to Wesleyan's Steven Chen from earlier this season, making quick work with a pair of 6-3 wins to give CMS its fourth point. Senior Max Macey (CMC) demonstrated razor-sharp focus, frustrating his opponent, Joachim Samson, in the No. 4 singles with his relentless return game. The senior calmly found ways to force his opponent into mistakes and came through with a 6-2 and 6-0 victory to seal the match for CMS.
The Stags will return tomorrow to face No. 1 Middlebury in the semifinal at 11 a.m. PDT. The two teams last met earlier this season at the Trinity Invitational in Austin, Texas, which the Stags took their first loss of the season 6-3. However, the Stags have changed their doubles lineup and singles order since their last meeting and will look to triumph.
By Young Kim
Sports Information Assistant
CMS Email Updates
CMS Athletics on Facebook: AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Twitter: AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Instagram: cmsathletics
CMS Athletics YouTube: ClaremontMuddScripps
#goathenas #gostags