CMS Men's Tennis Splits Day's Action, Stays Unbeaten in SCIAC with Win over Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. – The fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team bounced back from a narrow 4-3 loss to Biola to start the day to earn an 8-1 win over Whittier in a SCIAC match on Friday evening in a SCIAC match at Ettinger Tennis Courts.

With the split, CMS moves to 18-4 overall on the season and 3-0 in SCIAC competition.

Against Whittier, the Stags were able to come away with a 3-0 lead after doubles, as Ethan Carroll and Michael Hao earned an 8-5 win at No. 2 for the third and final point. Jack Katzman and Robert Liu took a close 8-6 win at No. 1, and Ian Freer and Morgan Schilling opened the scoring with an 8-3 win at No. 3.

Carroll gave CMS a quick 4-0 lead by rolling to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles, and the race to the clinch was won by Christopher Li, who earned a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 to give the Stags their fifth and deciding point. Katzman followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1, Hao took a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 and Schilling earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 6. Whittier was able to salvage the final point of the match in a third-set match tiebreaker at No. 5, in a bizarre turn of events that saw the Stags' Ian Habbestad overruled for a fourth time and defaulted.

In the earlier match played at Biola, the Stags came up just short when a pair of 7-5 third-set losses enabled the Eagles to get their final two points and come away with the narrow 4-3 win.

The teams played by NAIA rules with doubles counting as one point, and the Eagles clinched the 1-0 lead with 6-4 wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Katzman and Liu led 6-5 at No. 1, but their match was suspended after the point was clinched.

Biola took the first sets on four of six singles courts, but CMS battled with their backs to the wall and came just one point short of coming all the way back for the win. Carroll won his match by retirement at No. 3 (after leading 6-2, 2-1), Hao came back after dropping the first set for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 and Nathan Arimilli took a three-setter as well (6-1, 3-6, 6-2).

However, Li and Ian Habbestad both had their comebacks come up short after dropping the first set and coming back for the split. Li regrouped after a 6-0 first set defeat to win the second set 6-4, but despite leading by a service break twice in the third and having two match points returning at 4-5, 30-40, ultimately succumbed 7-5 in the deciding set. Habbestad took the second set 6-2 after dropping the first by the same score, but also saw his comeback come up short with a 7-5 defeat in the third.

CMS will be back in action tomorrow with two more matches, heading to UC Riverside in the morning before returning to the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in the afternoon to host Chapman in a SCIAC match at 3 p.m.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3) vs. Biola (4)
April 8, 2022 at La Mirada, CA. (Biola Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Sebastian Herrera/Carlos Solorzano (BIO) vs. Jack Katzman/Robert Liu (CMS) 5-6, unfinished
2. Alex Sedeno/Antonio R. Varona (BIO) def. Nathan Arimilli/Ian Freer (CMS) 6-4
3. Callen Hein/Isaac Cordova (BIO) def. Ethan Carroll/Christopher Li (CMS) 6-4

Singles
1. Sebastian Herrera (BIO) def. Jack Katzman (CMS) 6-3, 7-5
2. Alexei Prokopchuk (BIO) def. Christopher Li (CMS) 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
3. Ethan Carroll (CMS) def. Antonio R. Varona (BIO) 6-2, 2-1, retired
4. Nathan Arimilli (CMS) def. Alex Sedeno (BIO) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
5. Michael Hao (CMS) def. Isaac Cordova (BIO) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Ashton Heynes (BIO) def. Ian Habbestad (CMS) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5

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

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8) vs. Whittier (1)
April 8, 2022 at Whittier, CA. (Richard Ettinger Tennis Courts)

Doubles
1. Jack Katzman/Robert Liu (CMS) def. Prayag Ahire/Ahmed Amer (WHIT) 8-6
2. Ethan Carroll/Michael Hao (CMS) def. Kieran Carroll/Pim Van der Veer (WHIT) 8-5
3. Ian Freer/Morgan Schilling (CMS) def. Spencer Cinco/Mason Lebby (WHIT) 8-3

Singles
1. Jack Katzman (CMS) def.Spencer Cinco (WHIT) 6-4, 6-2
2. Christopher Li (CMS) def. Kieran Carroll (WHIT) 6-3, 6-1
3. Ethan Carroll (CMS) def. Pim Van der Veer (WHIT) 6-0, 6-0
4. Michael Hao (CMS) def. Prayag Ahire (WHIT) 6-3, 6-2
5. Ahmed Amer (WHIT) def. Ian Habbestad (CMS) 2-6, 7-6(7), 1-0 (2-6) Def.
6. Morgan Schilling (CMS) def. Mason Lebby (WHIT) 6-2, 6-4

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