Senior day wins for Athenas lock down top seed for SCIAC Championships
CLAREMONT, Calif. – On Senior Day for lone senior Sarah Kukino (CMC), the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team made quick work of Chapman (9-0) and Occidental (9-0) on April 17 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in the last two conference matches before the SCIAC Championships begin on May 1. The victories pushed CMS' win streak to 11 overall. They are now 19-1 overall and 8-0 in conference and have captured the top-seed for the SCIAC Championships on May 1-2.
Kukino, a three-time All-Conference performer during her career, posted three wins in her final regular season home matches for the Athenas at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. Against Chapman, she went 2-0 with a win in No. 3 singles (6-1, 6-1) and No. 2 doubles (8-3) with Kyla Scott (HMC). She added an 8-0 sweep in No. 1 doubles against Occidental, also with Scott.
CMS 9, Chapman 0
In No. 1 doubles, CMS' Katie Kuosman (CMC) and Caroline Ward (CMC) – the No. 1 doubles team in the West - took down Chapman's top duo of Rachel Fox and Andrea Hammer, 8-3. Hammer and Fox were NCAA Division III doubles quarterfinalists in 2014 and are currently ranked 8th in the West Region. CMS took the other two doubles matches 8-3 and 8-1.
CMS took care of business quickly in singles as well with five of its singles wins coming in two sets. Kukino topped Hammer who is ranked 50th in singles, 6-1, 6-1 in the third position. Bria Smith (CMC) had to fight for her win, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 in No. 4 singles.
Results
CMS 9, Occidental 0
Against Occidental, CMS ran out a completely different looking lineup than normal, with the same successful result. Dominance in doubles (the closest match being 8-1) got the Athenas off to a 3-0 lead. Kukino and Scott swept No. 1 doubles over Samantha Farrell and Amber Gadsden. Lauren Livingston (CMC) and Lindsay Brown (CMC) captured an 8-1 doubles win, as did Samantha Nuno (SCR) and Smith.
In six singles matches, the Athenas lost just a total of eight games and no match went the full three sets. Brown (No. 1 singles) and Scott (No. 2 singles) registered 6-1, 6-0 victories, while Smith won 6-0, 6-1 in No. 3 singles, Livingston didn't lose a game in No. 4 singles, Nuno won 6-2, 6-1 in No. 5 singles and Sanjana Sankaran (CMC) won 6-1, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.
Results
The Athenas get prepped for postseason play with four days at the Ojai Tournament, April 23-26.
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