Nic Meister - Men's Tennis

CLAREMONT, Calif. - When you join a top-notch program like the CMS men's tennis team, you sometimes have to wait for your opportunity behind the veterans ahead of you. Freshman Nic Meister got his opportunity this weekend, and seized it. 

Meister appeared in three of the first 15 dual matches for the Stags this spring, picking up singles wins on doubleheader days against Hope International, Mary Washington and Western New Mexico. This weekend, though, with No. 1 Chicago and No. 2 Middlebury visiting Biszantz, Meister was thrust into the spotlight matches, taking over the No. 6 spot in the lineup as the No. 4 Stags hosted two of the top teams on their schedule. 

With the pressure on, Meister picked up two statement wins, earning a 6-2, 6-3 victory against the top-ranked Maroons and the clinching 6-2, 6-4 win against defending national champion Middlebury. Chicago (11-0) and Middlebury (8-0) both came in with perfect records against Division III competition, but Meister helped hand both teams their first losses, while also helping CMS make its case to be the new No. 1 team when the next poll is released. 

With the wins, Meister is now 7-1 in singles as a Stag, with the only loss coming in the ITA West Region quarterfinals in the fall, when he fell to Jed Kronenberg, Pomona-Pitzer's No. 1 singles player. CMS is also now 17-1 on the year, with the only loss a 5-4 defeat to Amherst at the end of its Spring Break trip to New England. 

Meister and the Stags will be back in action this weekend when they open SCIAC play at Chapman on Friday and at home against Whittier on Saturday (3 p.m.) with a home match against Gustavus Adolphus (10 a.m., Saturday) sandwiched in between.