Three Up, Three Down: CMS Women's Tennis Completes Tripleheader of Shutouts

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis played three teams in one day and didn't lose a single match, defeating Hardin-Simmons and Haverford 9-0 and then defeating Division I Quinnipiac 7-0 on Sunday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

With the wins, CMS improves to 10-1 on the season, bouncing back from their first loss of the year, a 5-3 defeat last Sunday to Emory in the championship match of the ITA Indoor Nationals. 

The Athenas breezed through their first two matches, defeating Hardin-Simmons 9-0, with three of the singles matches decided by 6-0, 6-0 scores. Senior Jessie Cruz picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1, junior Madison Shea had a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2, and freshman Crystal Juan captured a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4. 

Junior Anastasia Bryan-Ajania almost had a double shutout as well, but settled for a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3. Freshman Georgia Tuckerman took a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 5 and junior Lauren Yamagami had a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6. 

In doubles, Bryan-Ajania and Juan had an 8-0 win at No. 3 as Juan didn't drop a game in either singles or doubles. Cruz and Martin earned an 8-1 win at No. 2, and junior Nicole Tan and freshman Sarah Bahsoun won 8-2 at No. 1. 

CMS kept the momentum going with another dominant effort against Haverford, dropping only six games over the six singles matches. Bryan-Ajania had a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 and Tuckerman had a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6. Freshman Sydney Lee played at the No. 1 line and earned a 6-0, 6-1 win, while Cruz won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2, Shea took a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4, and Juan picked up her second win of the day with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 5. 

CMS also dropped only two games in doubles against Haverford, with junior Catherine Allen and sophomore Caroline Cox, the No. 1 ranked team in Division III, taking an 8-0 win at No. 1. Shea and Berger had an 8-1 win at No. 2, while Martin and Lee earned an 8-1 win at No. 3. 

The Athenas had their toughest competition of the day against Division I Quinnipiac but managed to finish off the match unscathed with a 7-0 win (playing Division I rules where doubles count as one point instead of three). Cox and Allen had their second 8-0 shutout, while Tan and Bahsoun also won 8-0 to clinch the doubles point quickly. Shea and Berger earned an 8-2 win to finish the doubles sweep. 

In singles, the Athenas were pushed, but came away with wins on all six lines. Tan and Cox had to battle back after dropping the first set and both earned tight third-set tiebreaker wins. Tan emerged with a 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 win at No. 2, and Cox rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 victory at No. 5. 

Lee had the most dominant performance in singles, coming away with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 4. Berger and Bahsoun earned identical 6-2, 6-2 wins at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, while Allen captured a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1. 

CMS will be back in action on Tuesday, March 19, when it hosts only two matches in one day, meeting Tufts at 11:30 a.m. and Babson at 3:30 p.m.