A decade of dominance

#1 CMS Stags Tennis defeated #3 Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday in the SCIAC tournament championship match, the Stags' 95th straight win spanning a decade of conference play. CMS' last conference loss was to Cal Lutheran on April 15, 2005.

For the second time this season, Pomona-Pitzer took a 2-1 lead after doubles by winning at the #2 and #3 positions. Seniors Warren Wood (Del Mar, CA) and Joe Dorn (Washington D.C.) solidified their position as the top doubles team in the west with a convincing three-break, 8-2 win at #1 for the Stags only doubles point. The Sagehens evened the match at one-all, after Nik Marino (Sr. - Del Mar, CA) and Glenn Hull (So. - Brookings, OR) were defeated in a tie-breaker after 16 games without a service break.  Skyler Butts (Jr. - Santa Ana, CA) and Daniel Morkovine (So. - San Carlos, CA) were looking to defeat Pomona-Pitzer's Jonathan Kim and Graham Maassen for the second time in seven days, but this time they could only get one of two service breaks back, losing 8-6 to give the Sagehens the 2-1 advantage.

As the singles began, CMS was clearly determined to reverse any momentum Pomona-Pitzer had gained from the doubles. The Stags trailed only once - with Wood down an early break at #1 - before taking the opening sets at all six singles positions. Hull got CMS even with a dominating 6-1, 6-0 win at #6 for his 22nd of the season. Marino put the Stags up 3-2 after dropping only three games at #3. The Stags put themselves in position to close out the dual match quickly with Butts, Wood, and Morkovine all serving for their matches at #2, #1, and #5 simultaneously. Wood was first to close out, defeating Hudson for the second time this season and all but ensuring his selection as SCIAC Player of the Year. Butts clinched the dual by serving out the match on his second try, followed shortly thereafter by Morkovine at #5. Dorn completed the singles sweep with his straight set win at #4 to improve his record to 15-3 on the season.

The Stags complete the regular season with a 27-2 overall record, 10-0 in SCIAC play. NCAA selections will be announced on Monday, May 4, with CMS expected to be the #1 seed overall and hosting opening rounds beginning next Friday, May 8.

#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. #3 Pomona-Pitzer (2)
May 2, 2015 at Pasadena, CA (Pasadena City College Tennis Courts) - SCIAC Tournament Championship Match

Doubles
1. Joe Dorn / Warren Wood (CMS) def. Connor Hudson / Kalyan Chadalavada (Pomona-Pitzer) 8-2
2. Jonathan Kim / Graham Maassen (Pomona-Pitzer) def. Skyler Butts / Daniel Morkovine (CMS) 8-6
3. Antony Bello / Spencer Simonides (Pomona-Pitzer) def. Nik Marino / Glenn Hull (CMS) 9-8(2)

Singles
1. Warren Wood (CMS) def. Connor Hudson (Pomona-Pitzer) 7-6(5), 6-3
2. Skyler Butts (CMS) def. Jonathan Kim (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-3, 7-5
3. Nikolas Marino (CMS) def. Graham Maassen (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-1, 6-2
4. Joe Dorn (CMS) def. Antony Bello (Pomona-Pitzer) 7-5, 6-3
5. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Sam Malech (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-2, 6-4
6. Glenn Hull (CMS) def. Marco Mandic (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-1, 6-0

Order of completion
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 6, 3, 2, 1, 5, 4