CMS Men's Tennis Drops Hard-Fought Battle to Emory in National Title Rematch
SAINT PETER, Minn. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team nearly had a dramatic late comeback, but fell on the short end of a 5-3 decision to Emory in a battle of the top two teams in the country in the finals of the ITA Indoor Nationals on Sunday morning at Gustavus Adolphus.
The loss was the first of the season for CMS, which slips to 9-1 on the season with the loss. Emory, which also defeated CMS 5-3 in the national championship match last season, improves to 4-0.
Senior Nikolai Parodi gave a dominant effort for the Stags in the defeat, teaming with first-year Ian Freer to win an 8-7 decision at No. 1 doubles (7-2 in the tiebreaker). Parodi then nearly earned a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles, taking a 6-0, 5-0 lead before settling for a 6-0, 6-2 win to level the score 2-2, after CMS had fallen behind 2-1 after doubles. Parodi was undefeated in the tournament at No.1 singles. He and Freer went 2-1 against three of the nation's top Divsion III doubles pairs, their only loss a tight 8-6 tie-break against Chicago.
Sophomore Nic Meister caught fire after winning a close first set and took a 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles to temporarily give the Stags the 3-2 lead. However, Antonio Mora took a three-setter over Jack Katzman at No. 2 singles, and Mark Sverdlov also won a three-setter at No. 4 over Freer to put the Eagles one win away from a team title.
It seemed that Rex Serituk was on his way at No. 5, where he had come back from a set down to take the second and then lead Robert Liu 5-2 in the decisive third. Liu then won four games in a row, breaking Serituk two times as he served for the match, to give himself a 6-5 lead and the Stags new life. Twice two point from victory at 30-all and deuce, Liu couldn't earn a match point and Serituk held serve to force the third set into a tiebreaker. A first point double-fault proved costly for Liu and he couldn't regain momentum or confidence, as Serituk and the Eagles clinched the championship.
Senior Daniel Park had his match left unfinished at No. 6 singles, as the championship format of the ITA was to play until the match was clinched. Park's match was on serve in the third set with Hassan Kenawi of Emory holding a very close 7-6, 5-7, 4-3 lead with Park serving.
Despite the loss, the Stags still came up with two big nationally ranked wins on its trip to Minnesota, knocking off No. 12 Case Western in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Chicago in the semifinals. CMS will be back in action this weekend for league play, when it travels to Cal Lutheran on Friday and Whittier on Saturday, before returning home to face Clark University on Saturday in the second half of a road-home doubleheader.
#2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3) vs. #1 Emory (5)
February 23, 2020 at Saint Peter, MN (Swanson Tennis Center - Gustavus Adolphus College - ITA Division III National Team Indoors Championship Match)
Doubles
1. Ian Freer / Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Hayden Cassone / Antonio Mora (Emory) 8-7(2)
2. Will Wanner / Alec Rabinowitz (Emory) def. Jack Katzman / Robert Liu (CMS) 8-6
3. Alhassan Kenawi / Andrew Esses (Emory) def. Nic Meister / Daniel Park (CMS) 8-3
Singles
1. Nikolai Parodi (CMS) def. Hayden Cassone (Emory) 6-0, 6-2
2. Antonio Mora (Emory) def. Jack Katzman (CMS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
3. Nic Meister (CMS) def. Andrew Esses (Emory) 7-5, 6-0
4. Mark Sverdlov (Emory) def. Ian Freer (CMS) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
5. Rex Serituk (Emory) def. Robert Liu (CMS) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)
6. Daniel Park (CMS) vs. Alhassan Kenawi (Emory) Unfinished 6-7(7), 7-5, 3-4
Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5
