Preview: 2016 NCAA D-III Men’s Tennis Championships
CLAREMONT, Calif. – Defense of its 2015 national title begins for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team on Friday, May 13 with a second round contest against UC Santa Cruz at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center at 2 p.m. CMS is hosting second and third round matches on May 13-14 in Claremont. The other two teams in the regional are Whitman and Texas-Tyler who also face off on May 13 at 2 p.m.
The winner of the CMS vs. Santa Cruz match will play the winner of the Whitman vs. Texas-Tyler match in the third round on Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m. Then, the winner of the third round match advances to the team championships finals, which will be held May 23-25 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich. In addition to competing as a team in the NCAA Championships, the NCAA announced on May 12 that three Stags (listed below) have been selected to compete in the singles and doubles competition, May 26-28 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Information about the second and third rounds of the NCAA Championships in Claremont can be found on the Tournament Page. This page includes directions, schedules, results, video and live scoring links, and much more.
Regional Team Previews
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (25-4)
Ranked No. 2 nationally, CMS enters the NCAA postseason as an automatic qualifier by virtue of winning the SCIAC Championships on May 1 with a win over Pomona-Pitzer. It marked the 11th season in a row that the Stags have won the conference championship and fifth season in a row that CMS has hosted the Regionals. Of the three other teams coming to CMS, CMS has played two of the teams in Claremont this season, defeating Texas-Tyler and Whitman by scores of 7-2. CMS defeated Santa Cruz 5-0 in the second round of the NCAA Championships last season. Three Stags have been selected to compete in the singles and doubles competition of the NCAAs, May 26-28: senior Skyler Butts (CMC – singles/doubles), junior Glenn Hull (CMC – singles) and junior Daniel Morkovine (CMC –singles alternate/doubles).
UC Santa Cruz (6-7)
The Slugs were one of three teams that were selected from true independents and schools from conferences that do not have an automatic bid for their champions (Pool B). Santa Cruz is ranked ninth (out of 20 programs ranked) in the West Region. Kyle Richter and Adrian Sirovica are the fifth-ranked doubles team in the West.
Texas-Tyler (17-9)
UT Tyler earned an automatic bid by winning the American Southwest Conference Championship tournament for the program's ninth-straight regional appearance. UTT is ranked eighth in the West Region and 31st nationally. Against the other teams in the regional, Texas-Tyler is 0-2 with losses to CMS and Whitman. Arthur Fagundes (seventh) and Daniel Budd (11th) are both ranked in the West in singles while Fagundes and Frankie Fischer are ranked fourth in doubles. Fagundes earned a bid to the NCAA singles competition and doubles along with Fischer.
Whitman (19-8)
Whitman, ranked 19th nationally and third in the West, earned its spot in the NCAAs by capturing its ninth-consecutive Northwest Conference title, downing Whitworth University 5-0 in the semifinal round before clinching the league title with a 5-1 defeat of Pacific (Ore.) University. Zach Hewlin (fourth) and Phil Locklear (21st) are both ranked regionally in singles and Robert Carter along and Jake Hoeger make up Whitman's top doubles squad (eighth in the West).
By Chris Watts
Director of Athletics Communication
Claremont McKenna College
Become a fan of CMS Athletics on Facebook: AthleticsCMS
Follow CMS Stags Tennis on Twitter: @CMStennis
Follows CMS Athletics on Twitter: @AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Instagram: cmsathletics
Watch CMS Athletics videos on YouTube: ClaremontMuddScripps
#gostags
#goathenas