2009 Stags Tennis Season Preview

CMS Men’s Tennis begins its 2009 campaign with great anticipation, ready to play at their new home - the Biszantz Family Tennis Center - as the third ranked team in Division III and three-time defending SCIAC champions. CMS and the tennis center will also serve as hosts and host site of the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Team and Individual Tennis Championships, May 19-24.

The Stags season begins on Saturday, January 31 with the Ducey Cup Alumni Match and the dedication of the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The new home of Stags and Athenas Tennis features 12 lighted courts - all with permanent seating - as well as an observation deck, team room, locker rooms and offices.

CMS will be led by senior captain Lawrence Wang (Orange, CA), who is expected to play #1 singles and #1 doubles for the Stags. Wang is a three-time All-American and two-time SCIAC Player of the Year. He and partner Guillaume Schils (Sr. – Shaker Heights, OH) are the defending NCAA Division III Doubles champions. Schils and Wang own CMS records as a doubles team in matches played and won for a single season and career. The Stags third returning senior starter is Drew Sabater (Claremont, CA), who earned 18 wins playing singles at the #4-#6 positions.

Other upperclassmen expected to make an impact for the Stags in their bid to win a fourth straight SCIAC title are Mikey Lim (Jr. – Honolulu, HI), Michael Starr (Jr. – San Ramon, CA), and Eric MacColl (Jr. – Greenbrae, CA). Lim was the ITA West Region singles champion a year ago, and enters the spring ranked #12 in the west. Starr was the ITA National singles champion as a freshman, and earned 2nd Team All-SCIAC honors as a sophomore. MacColl played primarily at #2 singles for the Stags in 2008, and earned  1st Team All-SCIAC honors.

Sophomores Russell Brockett (Austin, TX) and Ronald Wu (Los Altos, CA) also played key roles in CMS’ third-place NCAA finish in 2008. Brockett was 19-4 at #5 and #6 singles, good for the sixth best  single season winning percentage in CMS Tennis history. Wu was also a singles and doubles starter for much of 2008, winning a combined 27 matches.

The Stags Tennis freshman class is led by Robbie Erani (New York, NY) and Victor Chien (Diamond Bar, CA). Erani was a singles semifinalist in the ITA West Regionals, and enters the spring ranked #20 in the west. Chien was the winner of the singles consolation draw at the ITA West Regionals, and comes into the spring with a #36 ranking in the west.

The Stags’ open dual match play at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on February 7 against Cal Poly Pomona and Chapman. SCIAC play begins the following week with a home match against Whittier on February 13. In the subsequent two months, CMS will play in three tournaments (ITA National Team Indoors, Stag-Hen Invitational, and the Ojai Valley Tournament) and host eight nationally ranked Division III opponents, as well as two Division I opponents.