Sydney Lee won 6-0, 6-0 in singles and 8-3 in doubles as the Athenas opened NCAA play with a 5-0 win
Sydney Lee won 6-0, 6-0 in singles and 8-3 in doubles as the Athenas opened NCAA play with a 5-0 win
Posted: May 11, 2019

CMS Women's Tennis Advances to NCAA Regional Finals with 6-0 Win over UT Dallas

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's team began its 2019 NCAA Tournament with a 6-0 win over Texas-Dallas on Saturday afternoon at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center, advancing to tomorrow's regional finals, where it will take on Pomona-Pitzer at 12 noon.

With the win, CMS improves to 24-1 on the year and stretches its winning streak to 17 straight, while UT Dallas ends its season with a 12-2 mark after winning the program's first NCAA Tournament game in the opening round 5-4 over Linfield. 

CMS was able to take control of the match in doubles with three quick wins. Junior Nicole Tan and freshman Sarah Bahsoun took a quick 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles for the first point of the day. Fifteen minutes later, junior Catherine Allen and sophomore Caroline Cox also picked up an 8-1 win in a more slowly-moving match, which was followed immediately by an 8-3 win for freshman Sydney Lee and junior Madison Shea at No. 3. 

The Athenas got their first two singles points from their two freshmen in the lineup, as Lee picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4 to give CMS a 4-0 lead, and Bahsoun came through with a 6-1, 6-0 win for the clinch at No. 5, finishing just before sophomore Rebecca Berger, who ended her match point a few seconds later for a 6-2, 6-0 win. 

The win brings the Athenas one step closer to a potential repeat national championship, as just four wins now stand between them and the national title. First, they must defeat No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer tomorrow at noon for the third time in three weeks, after a 7-2 win in the regular season finale on April 24 and a 5-0 win in the SCIAC Championship match on May 4. 

A win tomorrow would send CMS through to the NCAA Division III Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan from May 20-22, where the CMS vs. Pomona-Pitzer winner will open with the quarterfinals on Monday, May 20 against Carnegie Mellon. Allen, Tan and Berger are already heading to Kalamazoo for the individual singles championships from May 24-26, while Allen and Cox will represent the Athenas in doubles.