CMS Men's Tennis Defeats Pomona-Pitzer 7-2 for 17th Straight Unbeaten SCIAC Season
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Ian Freer was honored before the match for senior day and then provided the clinching win in singles as the No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team defeated No. 20 Pomona-Pitzer 7-2 on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
With the win, CMS improves to 23-3 on the year, picking up its 19th straight win and maintaining its hold as the No. 1 ranked team in Division III. The Stags also finish the season with a 7-0 SCIAC record, extending its winning streak in league matches to 151, and 159 including the eight SCIAC Postseason Tournament matches since the league went to its current format in 2018. CMS has now had 18 straight undefeated seasons in SCIAC play, dating back to 2006.
Both CMS and Pomona-Pitzer entered the conference season finale with 6-0 records, meaning that the winner of the dual would win the regular season outright and earn the top seed in the SCIAC tournament next week. Doubles were closely contested, with all three courts even at one point (6-6, 5-5, 5-5) before the Stags earned wins at the top two positions. Advik Mareedu and Josh Kim yielded an early break at No. 2 and faced a 2-5 deficit, but then went on a four-game tear to take a 6-5 lead with their own break in hand. After Kim was broken serving at 6-5, the Stags duo broke back and Mareedu served out the match for CMS' first point. At No. 3 Anirudh Reddy and Tarm Rojanasoonthon traded breaks in the first two games before settling in and taking their match to a tie-break at 7-all. After dropping the tie-break at No. 3 and with the match score now 1-1, all attention turned to Freer and Matthew Robinson at No. 1. The Stags top pair had relinquished an early break but then converted another to close out the match 8-6 and put CMS up 2-1 heading into singles. Freer and Robinson are now 7-0 in conference and 11-1 in regional play.
In singles, Mareedu earned his 27th win of the season and remained undefeated in conference play with a 6-1, 6-1 win to put CMS ahead 3-1. Robinson got the Stags their fourth point with an ace on match point in his 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3. Robinson similarly concludes regular season conference play undefeated in singles.
Fittingly, Freer was able to earn the clinch on his Senior Day, although he had to recover from an 0-4 two-break deficit in the first set for a gritty 7-6(2), 6-2 win. Anirudh Gupta added another point for CMS at No. 4 and improved his three-set record to 6-1 on the season. Gupta served at 6-1, 5-3 and forty-love with four match points, before settling for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win that put CMS up 6-1. Warren Pham earned the seventh and final point for CMS with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 win at No. 6 singles. Pham stumbled in the second set after getting up an early service break, but held on for his eighth straight singles win, bringing his record to 17-6.
CMS will be the top seed in the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament and will host fourth-seeded No. 33 Chapman in a semifinal match on Wednesday night.
#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #20 Pomona-Pitzer (2)
April 27, 2024 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)
Doubles
1. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Luke Feng/Eshaan Lumba (PP) 8-6
2. Josh Kim/Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Sam English/Owen Kelley (PP) 8-6
3. Neil Chulani/Ethan Lee (PP) def. Anirudh Reddy/Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) 8-7(3)
Singles
1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Eshaan Lumba (PP) 6-1, 6-1
2. Ian Freer (CMS) def. Ethan Lee (PP) 7-6(2), 6-2
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Matthew Feng (PP) 6-4, 6-1
4. Anirudh Gupta (CMS) def. Rohun Krishnan (PP) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
5. Sam English (PP) def. Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
6. Warren Pham (CMS) def. Neil Chulani (PP) 6-3, 4-6, (10-6)
Order of completion
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5
