CMS Men's Tennis Takes Down Villanova 6-1

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team swept doubles and then won four of six singles matches in straight sets as it defeated Division I Villanova 6-1 on Saturday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. CMS moves to 7-2 on the season.

The Stags earned the doubles point in convincing fashion, with a 6-2 win at No. 2 from Philip Martin and Matthew Robinson and a 6-3 win from Ethan Carroll and Ian Freer at No. 3. The closest was at No. 1, but Jack Katzman and Robert Liu prevailed 6-4. 

CMS was dominant at the top of the ladder in singles, where Liu rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 and Katzman captured a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2. Carroll won a quick first set at No. 3 and then had two match points returning at 4-5 in the second set, but needed a tie-break win to get CMS the clinch.

Christopher Li continued his outstanding singles play with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 to put the Stags up 5-1, before Matthew Robinson earned a 6-1, 4-6, (10-7) win at No. 5 to bring the dual match to a 6-1 completion.

During the trip, the Stags also competed at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, where Jack Katzman and Robert Liu advanced two rounds, defeating the tournament's No. 9 seed (AJ Moore and Chase Thompson) 4-1, 4-2, before falling to the third-seeded team of Stefan Dostanic and Wojciech Marek of No. 5 USC by a score of 4-2, 5-4 (4). Carroll and Li and Freer and Robinson also picked up wins, with Freer and Robinson defeating the tournament's No. 16 seed 5-4, 4-2. 

CMS will be back in action in 10 days, facing Whitman and Sewanee in a Biszantz Family Tennis Center doubleheader on March 15, before co-hosting the Stag-Hen Invitational on March 18-19. The field at the Stag-Hen this year includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Emory, Gustavus Adolphus, Trinity and WashU, in addition to CMS and Pomona-Pitzer. 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6) vs. Villanova (1)
March 5, 2022 at La Jolla, CA. (La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club Club)

Doubles
1. Jack Katzman/Robert Liu (CMS) def. Alex Kim/Justin Suarez (Villanova) 6-4
2. Matthew Robinson/Philip Martin (CMS) def. Trey Fouticq/Anthony Prokurat (Villanova) 6-2
3. Ian Freer/Ethan Carroll (CMS) def. Josh Robinson/Noah Winton (Villanova) 6-3

Singles
1. Robert Liu (CMS) vs. Justin Suarez (Villanova) 6-1, 6-1
2. Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Trey Fouticq (Villanova) 6-3, 6-1
3. Ethan Carroll (CMS) def. Alex Kim (Villanova) 6-2, 7-6(3)
4. Anthony Prokurat (Villanova) def. Ian Freer (CMS) 1-6, 6-4, (10-8)
5. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) 6-1, 4-6, (10-7)
6. Christopher Li (CMS) def. Will Gatti (Villanova) 6-1, 6-0

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