Stags Reach Final of National Indoors

CMS Men's Tennis defeated #2 seed and host Gustavus Adolphus College 5-4 in the semifinals of the ITA National Indoors in St. Peter, MN on Saturday. The Stags again led by sophomore Lawrence Wang (Orange, CA), who won at second doubles with partner Guillaume Schils (Shaker Heights, OH), and then won at #1 singles. The Stags trailed 2-1 after the doubles and then rallied to win four of six singles for the victory.

The Stags found themselves trailing after doubles for the first time in two seasons against a Division III opponent. However, senior co-captain Eric Chow (Sunnyvale, CA) got CMS even at 2-2 with a straight set victory at #3 singles. Wang put the Stags up 3-2 in dramatic style, coming back from 5-3 down in the third with his opponent serving for the match. Senior co-captain William Ellison (Shaker Heights, OH), then lost a tie-break in the third, after serving for the match at 5-4, to even the match at 3-all. Freshman Mikey Lim's (Honolulu, HI) straight set win at #4 put the Stags up 4-3. After freshman Eric MacColl (Greenbrae, CA) lost at #5 to even the match at 4-4, all eyes turned to senior David Oehm (Menlo Park, CA) at #6. Facing an enthusiastic home crowd and a big serving opponent, Oehm used his experience to tough out a 7-5, 7-6(5) win and clinch the victory for the Stags.

In the final on Sunday, the Stags play #4 seed and west region rival UC Santa Cruz at 9:00 AM CST / 7:00 AM PST. Santa Cruz upset #1 seed and defending national champion Emory in the other semifinal 6-3. This is CMS' first ever appearance in the final of the ITA National Indoors.