Allen Wins Singles Title, Team Shows Well at ITA Regional

CLAREMONT, Calif. - This weekend the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team had a strong showing at the ITA West Regional. Playing on their home court at the Biszantz Tennis Center, the Athenas accounted for three of the four semifinalists in the singles and doubles competitions. Catherine Allen (SC) won the singles tournament by defeating Nicole Tan (CMC) in the championship by a 6-2, 6-2 final.

In the doubles competition, Tan teamed up with Lindsay Brown (CMC) to finish as the runner-up in the tournament.

As mentioned, across the board the Athenas had a strong showing in the singles competition. CMS started with 12 players in the field of 64 and after the first-round, nine Athenas remained in the field.

In the round of the 32, all nine Athenas that remained in the field earned victories. Eight of the nine matches for CMS were taken in straight sets. Only Juliette Martin (HMC) was forced to three sets. Martin dropped the first set 7-6 (5), but won her next two sets in convincing fashion (6-2, 6-2) to advance.

Five Athenas advanced to the quarterfinals with all five winning their matches in straight sets. Nicole Tan - 6-3, 6-0, Anastasia Bryan-Ajania (SC) - 6-1, 6-2, Lindsay Brown - 6-0, 6-4, Rebecca Berger - 6-3, 6-1, and Catherine Allen 6-2, 6-1 all advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping more than four games in their round of 16 matches.

Tan (6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-3), Brown (6-2, 7-5), and Allen (6-3, 6-1) advanced to the semifinals. The two semifinals produced two of the better matches in the tournament. Both matches went three sets with Tan edging Pomona-Pitzer's Summer Garrison 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. In the other semifinal, Allen edged Brown 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the championship against Tan.

Facing her third-straight Athena teammate, Allen topped Tan 6-2, 6-2 to win the singles title.

After dropping her first match of the tournament, Chiara Schwab won five straight matches to top the consolation bracket. The freshman won the consolation championship 6-4, 6-2 over Cal Lutheran's Sarah Seeman.

In doubles play, the Athenas featured three teams in the semifinals. The team of Tan and Brown cruised through their first two matches by scores of 8-3 and 8-2, but had to grind out a 8-6 victory over Burak and McDonald (Colorado College) to advance to the semifinals.

The unseeded team of Martin and Lauren Yamagami (CMC) also advanced to the semifinals, but faced a tough test from the No. 3 seed Ikioka and Johnson (Redlands) in the round of 16. Martin and Yamagami prevailed 8-6 and took their quarterfinal match 8-4 to face Tan and Brown in the semis.

After deep runs in the single tournament, Allen and Berger teamed-up for the doubles tournament. The duo dropped just five games in their first three matches, winning by scores of 8-0, 8-1, and 8-4 to reach the semifinals. Their run would come to an end against Chen and Zhao (Pomona-Pitzer) in the semis by a 8-3 score.

Top-seeded Tan and Brown got past their teammates 8-4 to square-off with the No. 2-seeded team of Chen and Zhao in the doubles finals. Chen and Zhao pulled off the slight upset with a 6-2, 6-2 victory to win the doubles title.

With her victory in the singles competition, Catherine Allen will advance to the ITA Oracle Cup in Rome, Ga. on Oct. 11-14.