CMS Reclaims Stag-Hen Title With 7-2 Win Over No. 3 Bowdoin
CLAREMONT, Calif. - No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis swept all six singles matches without the loss of a set en route to a dominating 7-2 victory over No. 3 Bowdoin in the championship match of the 2019 Stag-Hen Invitational. The Stags reclaim the trophy after falling to the Polar Bears in the 2018 final by the same score.
Sophomores Jack Katzman (CMC) and Robert Liu (CMC) won their seventh straight at No. 2 for the Stags' only point in the doubles, the first time this season that CMS hasn't taken a lead into the singles. With some added motivation to be even sharper in singles, all six starters delivered fromm the outset. Liu and senior Julian Gordy (CMC) got things started in the middle of the lineup at Nos. 3 and 4, winning love sets to set the tone. Katzman, Casey Morris (CMC) and Daniel Park (CMC) all followed with first set wins of their own, leaving only junior Nikolai Parodi (CMC) in a tight first set against defending NCAA singles champion Grant Urken. Parodi had one set point receiving at 4-5 and was unable to convert, but played a brilliant tie-break to win the first set 7-6(2).
The Stags faced little resistance in the second sets on courts 2, 3, 4 and 6, with only Parodi and Park at No. 1 and No. 5 going the distance to win tight second sets. Parodi pushed Urken- the best server in Division III - on each of his service games, finally converting on his second break point at 5-all. Serving for the match, CMS' top player needed three match points before earning his finest win of the season. Park let leads of 4-1 and 5-4 get away in the second, but held on for a gritty 8-6 tie-break win to complete the singles sweep. The Stags played seven tie-breaks in two days at the Stag-Hen, winning four of them. They are 16-8 on the season in tie-breaks.
CMS moves to 10-0 on the season and heads to New England for the next four matches. On Tuesday March 19, the Stags will open their New England swing at MIT at 3 PM EST. On Wednesday, March 20 CMS will face No. 8 Wesleyan and the Coast Guard Academy at 10 AM and 3:30 PM EST at Wesleyan. CMS' trip concludes at No. 7 Amherst on Friday, March 22 at 3 PM EST.
2019 Final Stag-Hen Invitational Standings:
- CMS
- Bowdoin
- Pomona-Pitzer (def. Sewanee 9-0)
- Sewanee
- Skidmore (def. Southwestern 6-3)
- Southwestern
- Gustavus Adolphus (def. Swarthmore 8-1)
- Swarthmore
#6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #3 Bowdoin (2)
March 16, 2019 at Claremont, CA (Biszantz Family Tennis Center) Stag-Hen Invitational Championship Match
Doubles
1. Grant Urken / Yangeng Jiang (Bowdoin) def. Julian Gordy / Nikolai Parodi (CMS) 8-4
2. Jack Katzman / Robert Liu (CMS) def. Larry Zhao / Justin Wang (Bowdoin) 8-2
3. Justin Patel / Oscar Yang (Bowdoin) def. Oscar Burney / Daniel Park (CMS) 8-4
Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Grant Urken (Bowdoin) 7-6(2), 7-5
2. Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Yangeng Jiang (Bowdoin) 6-3, 6-2
3. Julian Gordy (CMS) def. Oscar Yang (Bowdoin) 6-0, 6-1
4. Robert Liu (CMS) def. Justin Wang (Bowdoin) 6-0, 6-1
5. Daniel Park (CMS) def. Justin Patel (Bowdoin) 6-3, 7-6(6)
6. Casey Morris (CMS) def. Alan Delman (Bowdoin) 6-1, 6-1
Order of completion
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 6, 3, 4, 2, 1, 5