NATIONAL CHAMPS: Athenas’ dynamic duo wins doubles title at ITA National Small College Championships
SUMTER, S.C. – Two weeks ago roughly 200-plus doubles teams in eight different regions across the NCAA Division III landscape took to the courts with the goal in mind of being a national champion. When the dust settled at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships on Oct. 10, the top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis doubles team of Katie Kuosman and Caroline Ward were the lone team left standing.
In the doubles championship match, Kuosman and Ward defeated the 2013 runner-up and second-seeded team of Patricia Kirkland and Sonja Meighan from Washington & Lee 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to win the national title. Kuosman and Ward became the first women's doubles team from CMS to win the event since the women's doubles competition began in 1991 at the Small College Championships.
Over the course of three days, the CMS team won three matches with the championship match being the only one for them that went a full three sets. Along the way, Kuosman and Ward defeated McGuire and Beck from Wisconsin-Whitewater (6-0, 6-2) and Chow and Trinka (6-3, 6-4). The USTA/ITA National Small College Championships were comprised of the eight regional champions.
Since Ward and Kuosman won the doubles championship at the Division III level, they now compete to become the overall "Super Bowl" champion. The "Super Bowl" pits the winner of each level of the Small College Championships (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges) against each other. Ward and Kuosman now face off against Anastasia Baranova and Kateryna Shkot of Oklahoma Baptist in the semifinals of the "Super Bowl" at 1 p.m. (EST).
The "Super Bowl" champions earn wild cards into the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships with the opportunity to win the culminating event held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Results from the weekend can be found on the ITA Small College Championships webpage.
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