Nik Marino and Skyler Butts (photo Ellen Friedlander)

Posted: May 10, 2014

Stags advance to NCAA quarters with 5-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer

Nik Marino (Jr. - San Diego, CA) and Skyler Butts (So. - Santa Ana, CA) earned singles and doubles wins to lead #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to their third victory of the season over #10 Pomona-Pitzer. The Stags advanced to their fifth straight NCAA team quarterfinal with a 5-1 win on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

CMS gained a 2-1 advantage after doubles on the strength of solid performances from Butts and Neel Kotrappa (Sr. - La Verne, CA) at #2 doubles and Marino and Zhenya Pereverzin (Sr. Capt. - Clackamas, OR) at #3 doubles. Butts and Kotrappa rebounded from their first loss of 2014 to a D3 doubles team on Friday, with a suffocating 8-1 victory to put the Stags up 1-0. Marino and Pereverzin trailed 1-3 at the third position before winning seven of the last eight games at #3.

Butts increased CMS' lead to 3-1 with his 31st singles win of the year, a convincing 6-1, 6-1 effort at #4. Marino battled himself and the conditions, but settled down to win the last three games and put the Stags ahead 4-1 in matches. Pereverzin needed five match points at #6 singles before freshman Daniel Morkovine (San Carlos, CA) snatched the clinching victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win at #5 singles. Morkovine is now 22-4 in singles this season.

CMS improves to 28-1 and will face #7 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Team Championship Quarterfinal on Monday, May 19 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. #10 Pomona-Pitzer (1)
May 10, 2014 at Claremont, CA (Biszantz Family Tennis Center) - NCAA Team Championship 3rd Round

Doubles
1. Chris Wiechert / Anthony Bello (Pomona-Pitzer) def. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) 8-4
2. Neel Kotrappa / Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Graham Maassen / Connor Hudson (Pomona-Pitzer) 8-1
3. Nik Marino / Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Sam Crawford / Spencer Simonides (Pomona-Pitzer) 8-4

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) vs. Jake Yasgoor (Pomona-Pitzer) 4-6, 5-3 DNF
2. Joe Dorn (CMS) vs. Chris Wiechert (Pomona-Pitzer) 3-6, 6-3, 0-1 DNF
3. Nik Marino (CMS) def. Connor Hudson (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-4, 6-3
4. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Graham Maassen (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-1, 6-1
5. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Joshua Kim (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-3, 6-4
6. Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) vs. Anthony Bello (Pomona-Pitzer) 7-5, 5-1 DNF

Order of completion
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 4, 3, 5