Casey Morris hits a backhand against Christopher Newport. (photo credit: Alisha Alexander)
Casey Morris hits a backhand against Christopher Newport. (photo credit: Alisha Alexander)

Stags Top Tigers and Captains on Strong Sunday

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team earned a pair of victories on Sunday to improve to 8-1 on the season. First the Stags traveled to Occidental and swept the Tigers 9-0 in their first SCIAC match of the season. CMS then returned home and defeated the No. 30 Christopher Newport Captains 7-2 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. Eleven Stags contributed to the two dual match wins.

Match One – CMS defeats Occidental 9-0

CMS traveled to the Scholl Canyon Tennis Center in Gendale to defeat Occidental by a convincing 9-0 score in the Stags' SCIAC opener. CMS was led by sophomore Daniel Park (CMC), who played in the top position in singles and doubles. Park and Jay Yeam (CMC) were part of a Stags doubles sweep where all three teams won by scores of 8-2. Park later won at No. 1 singles in straight sets for his eighth win of the season. Sophomore Matthew Jacobs (CMC) and junior Avinash Vemuri (CMC) provided the dual match clinching singles wins at No. 3 and No. 2 respectively.

Match Two – CMS defeats Christopher Newport 7-2

After their victory on Sunday morning, the Stags traveled back to Claremont to take on the No. 30 Christopher Newport Captains at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The Stags continued their strong doubles play from the top of lineup, taking a 2-1lead into singles play. CMS was pushed to decisive third sets at two singles positions, with junior Julian Gordy (CMC) prevailing at No. 4, and sophomore Nikolai Parodi (CMC) escaping at No. 1. After dropping a frustrating first set, Gordy bounced back to win sets two and three by a 6-2, 6-2 score. Parodi won his first set but fell behind early in the second and seemed as if he might not recover. With the dual match already clinched, Parodi trailed 4-0 in the third set before rattling off four straight games to even things up at 4-all. Parodi was then broken, giving his opponent a chance to serve for the match at 5-4. The Stags' No. 1 then broke serve, held, and broke again to keep his perfect singles dual match record intact.

First year players Jack Katzman (CMC), Oscar Burney (CMC), and Casey Morris (CMC) all earned straight-set singles victories to close out the win for the Stags. Next up for CMS (8-1, 1-0) is the Stag-Hen Invitational March 12-13. CMS and Pomona-Pitzer host the annual eight-team tourney featuring all nationally ranked programs. CMS opens tournament play on Monday, March 12 against No. 32 Swarthmore at 10 AM. The Stags will face either No. 5 Wesleyan or No. 15 Trinity University in the 3 PM match. On the opposite side of the draw, No. 14 Pomona-Pitzer faces No. 7 Wash U in St.Louis, while No. 4 Bowdoin takes on No. 25 Case Western.

#2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9) vs. Occidental (0)
March 4, 2018 at Glendale, CA (Scholl Canyon Tennis)

Doubles
1. Daniel Park / Jay Yeam (CMS) def. Isaiah Bird / Cameron Coe (Oxy) 8-2
2. Alfred Simental / Jake Williams (CMS) def. Isa Kibira / Lucas Chmielewski (Oxy) 8-2
3. Matthew Jacobs Avi Vemuri (CMS) def. Ivan Derrick / Vinny Bartholomew (Oxy) 8-2

Singles
1. Daniel Park (CMS) def. Lucas Chmielewski (Oxy) 6-2, 7-6(5)
2. Avinash Vemuri (CMS) def. Cameron Coe (Oxy) 6-1, 6-0
3. Matthew Jacobs (CMS) def. Isaiah Bird (Oxy) 6-4, 6-1
4. Jay Yeam (CMS) def. Ivan Derrick (Oxy) 4-6, 6-2, (10-5)
5. Alfred Simental (CMS) def. Isa Kibira (Oxy) 6-4, 6-1
6. Jake Williams (CMS) def. Vinny Bartholomew (Oxy) 6-4, 6-1

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

#2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #30 Christopher Newport (2)
March 4, 2018 at Claremont, CA (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Julian Gordy / Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. David Reed / Justin Cerny (CNU) 8-5
2. Oscar Burney Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Dominic Lacombe / Nick Ruzicka (CNU) 8-3
3. Andy Mason / William Trang (CNU) def. Casey Morris / Jay Yeam (CMS) 8-6

Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. David Reed (CNU) 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5
2. Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Justin Cerny (CNU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Oscar Burney (CMS) def. Andy Mason (CNU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Julian Gordy (CMS) def. Dominic Lacombe (CNU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
5. Nick Ruzicka (CNU) def. Avinash Vemuri (CMS) 7-6(4), 3-6, (10-8)
6. Casey Morris (CMS) def. William Trang (CNU) 6-0, 6-2

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