2009 CMS Stags Tennis Season in Review

2009 marked another outstanding year for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags Tennis Program. CMS began it’s season at the new state-of-the-art Biszantz Family Tennis Center in January, going on to finish with it’s fourth consecutive top five national ranking. The Stags also won the SCIAC title for the fourth straight year, while extending their conference unbeaten streak to 41 matches.

The 2009 season began with the dedication of the new Biszantz Family Tennis Center in January. The new home of Stags and Athenas is already considered one of the finest in all of collegiate tennis, and features twelve lighted Plexipave courts with permanent seating, an observation platform, team room, locker rooms, and offices.

Playing the most challenging schedule of any Division III program, the Stags season was highlighted by wins over NCAA finalist and 2nd ranked Amherst, 5th ranked Middlebury, 7th ranked Kenyon (twice), 9th ranked Gustavus Adolphus, and 10th ranked Redlands (three times). In all, the Stags had wins over ten nationally ranked opponents, losing to only #1 and #3 in Division III. CMS finished 3rd at the ITA National Team Indoors and won the Stag-Hen Invitational for the second time in three years (defeating #2 Amherst 7-2 in the final). CMS also defeated two of the three Division I opponents they faced, earning wins over Villanova and UC Davis, and narrowly losing to Penn. The Stags’ 26-6 record was the program’s second best ever in total wins and winning percentage.

Senior Captain Lawrence Wang (Orange, CA) led CMS with a 27-8 record at #1 singles. Wang was the recipient of the ITA West Region Senior Player of the Year award, earned his fourth consecutive ITA All-American honors, and became the first CMS player to win the singles title at the prestigious Ojai Valley Tournament. He was named SCIAC Player of the Year for the third straight year and CMC Male Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row.

Wang was one member of a special senior class that will be remembered for its outstanding accomplishments. Guillaume Schils (Shaker Heights, OH) partnered Wang to become the most successful doubles team in program history, earning a staggering 88 wins in 122 matches over four years. Drew Sabater (Claremont, CA) leaves with the 8th best career singles winning percentage in program history, having gone 36-13 as a starter.

Four Stags earned all conference accolades. Freshman Robbie Erani (New York, NY) joined Wang as a 1st Team All-SCIAC selection, while sophomore Ronald Wu (Los Altos, CA) and junior Mikey Lim (Honolulu, HI) earned second team honors. Coach Paul Settles was also honored as the ITA West Region Coach of the Year.


2009 Season Bests - By the Numbers

Singles Wins                                          27 – Lawrence Wang
Doubles Wins                                         23 – Ronald Wu
Combined Wins                                      45 – Lawrence Wang
Singles Winning Percentage                    .815 – Mikey Lim
Doubles Winning Percentage                   .719 – Ronald Wu
Combined Winning Percentage                .720 – Ronald Wu
ITA All-Americans                                   1 – Lawrence Wang (Singles)
ITA Year-End National Singles Rankings    #6 – Lawrence Wang; #29 – Robbie Erani; #45 – Mikey Lim
ITA Year-End National Doubles Rankings   #19 – Mikey Lim / Lawrence Wang
ITA Scholar-Athletes                                8 – Russell Brockett, Russell Chidester, Myles Crandall, Mikey Lim, Drew Sabater, Mike                                                                      Starr, Lawrence Wang, Ari Zyskind