Stag Teammates Liu and Carroll to Face Each Other in ITA West Region Singles Finals

CLAREMONT, Calif. - CMS teammates Robert Liu and Ethan Carroll will meet head-to-head for the ITA West Regional Singles title on Sunday, after both improved to 4-0 on the weekend with a pair of wins on Saturday.

By reaching the finals, Liu and Carroll will both qualify for the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia, which will take place in two weeks, regardless of who wins tomorrow's match. 

CMS had seven of the eight quarterfinalists in singles, and Liu was the only one who did not face a teammate in his first match on Saturday, defeating Mukund Madabhushi 6-2, 6-3. Liu then defeated Philip Martin of the Stags, who fought off four match points yesterday in a 14-12 tiebreaker win over Matthew Feng, and then eliminated Jack Katzman, the top seed from the Stags.

Carroll, meamwhile, went from unseeded in the original draw into the ITA West finals with two wins, battling Chistopher Li to a long first-set tiebreaker before winning 7-6 (10-8), 6-2, and then knocking off Matthew Robinson, the second seed in the draw, 7-5, 6-4. 

CMS will also have one of the doubles finalists, although which Stag team it is will be determined when they face each other tomorrow. Katzman and Liu moved through to the semifinals with two wins on Saturday, and they will meet fellow Stags Philip Martin and Nathan Arimilli, who prevailed in a tiebreaker 8-7 (7-5). 

The doubles semifinals start the action tomorrow at Pomona-Pitzer at 9 a.m., with the finals following at 10 a.m. The Liu-Carroll singles final will take place at 11:30 a.m.