Athenas poised to defend SCIAC Title
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team has earned the No. 1 seed going into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships May 5-7 hosted by the University of Redlands. En route to the gaudy 23-0 record, the Athenas recorded sweeps in 11 matches and posted an overall point total of 176-25.
No. 1 CMS hosts No. 8 Chapman in the first round of the tournament on Friday, May 5 at 3 p.m. Then the entire tournament moves to the Verdieck Courts of Redlands for competition on Saturday and Sunday. There will be no admission charged at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on Friday or at Redlands over the weekend.
Due to potential rain, please follow along on Twitter (@AthleticsCMS) for any schedule changes.
The Athenas are in search of their seventh consecutive SCIAC Championship. In the 2017 season, CMS swept through conference play and only dropped three team points, all to Pomona-Pitzer in the final match of the regular season.
The captains, juniors Lindsay Brown (CMC), Kyla Scott (HMC) and senior Katie Kuosman (CMC) have brought together a tight team of Athenas this year and it is reflected in their record. All three doubles pairings mix upperclasswomen and first years. Brown and doubles partner freshman Nicole Tan (CMC) are the top-ranked team in the West Region and went undefeated in Division III competition, dropping only their final regular season match to DI UC Irvine. Playing consistently at No. 2 are Kuosman and freshman Catherine Allen (SC) who are also unbeaten and sit at third in the region. Scott most often pairs up with rookie Madison Shea (CMC) to complete the dynamite doubles groupings for CMS.
The Athenas have had undeniable success in singles as well. Six CMS players are ranked in the top-25 in the West Region, led by Tan at No. 2 with Allen and Scott rounding out the Athenas in the top-5. Tan has played at both No. 1 and No. 2 during the season and has won all but two matches in straight sets. When she is in the lineup, Scott faces the fiercest opponents from the No. 1 spot. While her 4-6 record is not daunting, she brings a seldom-found intensity to her team when she is on the court.
Allen wavers between No. 2 and 3 while occasionally bumping up to the top spot. Her only match that went past two sets was a match tiebreaker against DII Point Loma Nazarene that she gutted out 11-9 to maintain her streak. Sophomore Jessie Cruz (CMC) brings fresh legs into the singles play and has won 12 matches in a row. Brown adds incredible depth to the singles lineup as the No. 4 or 5 player. She has maintained a spotless record this spring and clinched the big win over Pomona-Pitzer in the regular season. Also making appearances in the singles lineup are Ana Bryan-Ajania (SC) who boasts a 14-2 record and Kuosman at 9-5.
In the most recent ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, CMS came in at No. 1, followed closely by Pomona-Pitzer at No. 5. Additionally, Redlands is ranked at No. 33 and Caltech at No. 39.
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
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