Caroline Cox was one of five Athenas to win in singles and doubles, picking up the clincher at No. 5 singles
Caroline Cox was one of five Athenas to win in singles and doubles, picking up the clincher at No. 5 singles

CMS Women's Tennis Shuts Out No. 5 Williams 9-0, Stays Unbeaten at Home

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The No. 2 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team played No. 5 Williams on Saturday in a rematch of last year's tightly-contested NCAA Semifinal, but there was little drama this time around as the Athenas cruised to a 9-0 win at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

With the win, CMS is now 14-1 on the season, with the only loss a tight 5-3 defeat to No. 1 Emory at the ITA Indoor Championships, and 9-0 at home, where it has outscored its opponents by an aggregate score of 66-3. Williams, which led 3-1 in last year's NCAA Semifinals before CMS came back for a 5-3 win, falls to 2-4 on the year with the loss. 

CMS swept through doubles, with the No. 1 team of Caroline Cox and Catherine Allen having to work the hardest for their win, coming back from an early deficit to complete the sweep 8-5. Nicole Tan and Sarah Bahsoun won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and Madison Shea and Rebecca Berger earned an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles. The doubles win for Tan marked the 100th win in her career, giving her 55 in doubles and 45 in singles in her three seasons with the Athenas. 

The Athenas then flexed their muscles in singles, with five of the six wins coming while conceding four games or less. The clinch was in the books quickly, as Bahsoun took a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6 for a 4-0, which was followed quickly by a 6-0, 6-2 win for Cox at No. 5, making the score 5-0 and securing the team win. 

CMS picked up three more quick singles wins, as Sydney Lee earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 4, Berger captured a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 and Allen cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1, making the score 8-0. The only individual drama was on Court No. 2, where Tan dropped the first set to Korina Neveux of Williams, but battled back for a 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 win to complete the 9-0 shutout. 

Williams was one of only two teams to defeat the Athenas last year, taking a 5-4 regular season win on March 24 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center, before CMS went on to finish 29-2. This time around, CMS was able to defend its home court against the Ephs with a dominant shutout. 

The Athenas return to action next week for two more big top-10 matchups at home, battling Chicago on Friday at 10 a.m. and then taking on Middlebury on Saturday at 12 noon.