Julian Gordy and Nikolai Parodi - 2018 Ojai D3 Doubles Champions
Julian Gordy and Nikolai Parodi - 2018 Ojai D3 Doubles Champions

Parodi and Gordy Take D3 Singles and Doubles Titles at Ojai

OJAI, Calif. – Sophomore Nikolai Parodi (CMC) became the first player in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Tennis history to win back-to-back Ojai Division III singles and doubles titles on Sunday. Parodi defeated Pomona-Pitzer's Jed Kronenberg 6-2, 6-0 in the singles championship match, and then later paired with junior Julian Gordy (CMC) to capture the doubles crown. Parodi and Gordy defeated Caltech's Varun Shanker and James Wei 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3. Parodi and Gordy extend the streak of Stags singles and doubles titles at Ojai to five.

Parodi's path to singles victory included the loss of only one set, in the second round to Pomona-Pitzer's Joshua Gearou. After dropping the second set to Gearou, Parodi responded with a 6-0 third set to advance to the quarterfinals. From the quarters on, CMS' top player yielded six games or fewer en route to the title, including a 6-4, 6-1 win over UC Santa Cruz's Chad LeDuff in the semifinal, which avenged a straight set loss to LeDuff on March 30.  Parodi joins Warren Wood (CMC '15) as the only Stag to have won the Ojai singles title twice. He's the fourth CMS player to have appeared in two singles finals, joining Wood, Skyler Butts (CMC '16), and Alex Lane (CMC '13). Butts lost in the 2015 final to Wood. Lane was the 2011 champion and then reached the 2012 final.

Gordy and Parodi's Ojai doubles title added four more wins to their 2018 total. The Stags' No. 1 pair avenged a loss on March 24 to George Fox's Spencer Watanabe and Will Leach with an 8-4 win in the semifnal. Gordy and Parodi trailed 1-4 and then won the final seven games of the match. The championship match was the second meeting between CMS' and Caltech's top teams in the past eight days. Despite leading by a set and a service break at 6-4, 4-3, Gordy and Parodi couldn't consolidate their break and then dropped the second set in a tie-break. Two breaks of serve in the deciding third set gave the Stags' top team a 5-1 lead before Parodi served out the match for 6-3. CMS' No. 1 team is now 21-5 together thus far in 2018.  Parodi joins Butts and Daniel Morkovine as the only Stags with two or more Ojai doubles titles. Butts and Morkovine have three doubles titles each including two with each other. Morkovine and Parodi won the 2017 title.

Next up for CMS is the SCIAC team tournament on Friday, May 4. The top-seeded Stags host fourth seed Cal Lutheran at 3:00 PM at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. In the other tournament semifinal, second seeded Pomona-Pitzer will host third seed Caltech at 1:00 PM

Ojai Division III Tournament Results