CMS Men's Tennis Takes Two at Biszantz Over Chapman, Westcliff

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team earned a 9-0 win over No. 32 Chapman in a league match, and then came back to earn a hard-fought 4-3 win over No. 22 NAIA Westcliff in the nightcap, as the Stags stretched their win streak to 17 with a pair of wins on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

CMS now stands at 21-3 on the year, and hasn't lost since falling twice at the ITA Indoor Championships in February (to Emory and Case Western). The only other defeat was on opening day to Division II Point Loma. 

Ian Freer moved to 16-5 on the season and picked up the clinching win in the Westcliff victory, coming back from a set down to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to give the Stags their fourth and decisive point. Freer also picked up two wins earlier in the day against Chapman at No. 1 doubles with Matthew Robinson and at No. 2 singles. Freer is 10-0 in conference singles and doubles play and is 18-1 in West regional action.

Advik Mareedu, who started the day with a big 6-4, 6-3 singles win over Chapman's Caleb Wilkins in a rematch of a three-setter in the ITA West Regional finals in the fall, tied the score up at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles. The Warriors went back in front with a win at No. 5 singles, but Warren Pham quickly knotted it up with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 6. 

Robinson put CMS in front with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 3 to make it a 3-2 lead, and Freer was able to finish off the win and stretch the CMS win streak to 17, which has included four wins by 4-3 scores. 

Freer also had the clinch in the first match, although it was less dramatic, as he earned a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 to make the score 5-0, after Robinson earned the first singles win when his opponent was forced to retire in the first set. Freer and Robinson also earned an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, with Mareedu and Josh Kim winning 8-4 at No. 2, and Tarm Rojanasoonthon and Anirudh Reddy winning 8-4 at No. 2. 

After Freer's clinch against Chapman, Rojanasoonthon finished off a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5, followed by Pham taking a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6. Mareedu, who is ranked No. 9 in the country in singles, took his won over Wilkins, who is ranked No. 11, marking Mareedu's 12th win in a row, and Anirudh Gupta finished off the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4. 

The win was the 150th SCIAC regular season consecutive win for the Stags, a streak which dates back to 2005. Including the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, which the league began in 2018 and which the Stags have won all four years it has been held, the league-sponsored streak now stands at 158. 

CMS will be back in action on Friday at No. 29 Caltech, and then returns home on Saturday when it closes out the regular season with a home match against No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer at 6 p.m.

#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9) vs. #32 Chapman (0)
April 20, 2024 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Caleb Wilkins/Ian Jordan (CU) 8-6
2. Josh Kim/Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Aram Izmirian/Kameron DeHart (CU) 8-4
3. Tarm Rojanasoonthon/Anirudh Reddy (CMS) def. Ben Jorgensen/Lachlan Dickinson (CU) 8-6

Singles
1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Caleb Wilkins (CU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Ian Freer (CMS) def. Andy Hess (CU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Matthew Dewey (CU) 5-3, retired
4. Anirudh Gupta (CMS) def. Aram Izmirian (CU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) def. Mac Caldwell (CU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Warren Pham (CMS) def. Danny Marsh (CU) 6-4, 6-0

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

#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (4) vs. #22 Westcliff (3)
April 20, 2024 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Borna Devald/Karlo Krolo (WCL) def. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) 7-5
2. Max Mueller/Felix Veyhle (WCL) def. Advik Mareedu/Josh Kim (CMS) 6-4
3. Anirudh Reddy/Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) def. Angel Guerrero/Victor Chaix (WCL) 6-3

Singles
1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Felix Veyhle (WCL) 6-2, 6-2
2. Ian Freer (CMS) def. Borna Devald (WCL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Max Mueller (WCL) 6-1, 7-5
4. Karlo Krolo (WCL) def. Anirudh Gupta (CMS) 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4
5. Angel Guerrero (WCL) def. Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) 6-2, 6-1
6. Warren Pham (CMS) def. Adrien Gagniere (WCL) 6-3, 7-5

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