Stags Conquer #4 Cal Lu, Take SCIAC Lead
#1 ranked CMS traveled to #4 Cal Lutheran for an important SCIAC dual on Friday, coming away with a 6-3 victory to take sole possession of the conference lead. Freshman Skyler Butts (Santa Ana, CA), sophomore Nikolas Marino (San Diego, CA), and senior Alex Lane (Claremont, CA) all had two wins, as the Stags took two of three doubles and four of six singles against the Kingsmen.
CMS took a 2-1 advantage from three one-sided doubles matches. In a match featuring the top two doubles teams in the West Region, Cal Lu's Nick Ballou and Ray Worley capitalized on two early breaks of serve and held on to beat CMS' Warren Wood (So. - Del Mar, CA) and Joe Dorn (So. - Washington D.C.). At #2, Butts and captain Neel Kotrappa (Jr. - La Verne, CA) improved to 15-2 as a team with a comfortable 8-4 win. Marino and Lane similarly were easy winners at #3.
In singles, CMS got efficient production from the middle of the lineup to secure the dual match win early. Lane won his tenth straight at #4 to put the Stags ahead 3-1. Butts followed moments later at #5 with his twelfth win in thirteen dual matches this spring. Then Marino clinched for the Stags with his 6-3, 6-1 win at #3.
CMS moves to 17-3 overall and 3-0 in conference and will face #11 Redlands at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6) vs. #4 Cal Lutheran (3)
April 5, 2013 at Thousand Oaks, CA (Poulson Tennis Center)
Doubles
1. Nick Ballou / Ray Worley (Cal Lu) def. Warren Wood / Joe Dorn (CMS) 8-4
2. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Alex Nichols / Connor Treacy (Cal Lu) 8-4
3. Nikolas Marino / Alex Lane (CMS) def. Thomas Millet / Marcelo Sousa (Cal Lu) 8-2
Singles
1. Nick Ballou (Cal Lu) def. Warren Wood (CMS) 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-0
2. Ray Worley (Cal Lu) def. Joe Dorn (CMS) 6-1, 7-5
3. Nikolas Marino (CMS) def. Alex Nichols (Cal Lu) 6-3, 6-1
4. Alex Lane (CMS) def. Connor Treacy (Cal Lu) 6-1, 6-2
5. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Thomas Millet (Cal Lu) 6-2, 6-2
6. Alex Johnson (CMS) def. Devon Belcher (Cal Lu) 3-6, 6-3, (10-3)
Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1, 6