CMS Men's Tennis Advances to SCIAC Championship Match with 5-1 Win Over Occidental
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Philip Martin and Matthew Robinson won at No. 1 doubles, and then provided the fourth and fifth points at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team advanced to the SCIAC Championship with a 5-1 win over Occidental on Friday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
The win improves the CMS record to 24-6 on the year and advances it through to tomorrow's championship match, where it will try to win its 15th straight conference title.
CMS has also now won 143 SCIAC-sponsored matches in a row, which matches a streak that Redlands had from 1963-1976. The Stags' streak includes 138 regular season matches and five SCIAC Postseason Tournament matches in 2018, 2019 and this year's semifinals. Prior to 2018, every SCIAC team was invited to the conference tournament, which was considered part of the regular season and included in the SCIAC record, but since 2018, only the top four finishers are invited and the postseason tournament is not considered part of a team's SCIAC record.
The Stags got a tough battle in doubles, as Occidental took the first win at No. 2, which Martin and Robinson were able to match with an 8-2 win at No. 1. The swing point saw Jack Katzman and Nathan Arimilli build a 7-1 lead and then hold on for the win at 8-5 after Occidental started to get some momentum.
CMS was able to take the momentum back in singles, where Robert Liu set the tone by racing out to a 6-0 win in the first set at No. 1. He went on to capture a 6-0, 6-2 win, and Robinson and Martin were able to record identical 6-3, 6-2 wins to clinch the victory. Katzman was also close to a win at No. 4 when the match was halted on the clinch (6-4, 5-1) and Michael Hao was closing in at No. 6 as well (6-2, 4-0).
The Stags will face Pomona-Pitzer in tomorrow's finals, which will be held at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center at 1 p.m. In the regular season meeting two weeks ago, CMS took a 7-2 win, sweeping singles after the Sagehens led 2-1 after doubles.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. Occidental (1)
May 6, 2022 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center) - SCIAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal
Doubles
1. Philip Martin/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Sam Coan/Matthew O'Connor (OXY) 8-2
2. David Zhang/Brett Miller (OXY) def. Robert Liu/Ian Freer (CMS) 8-0
3. Nathan Arimilli/Jack Katzman (CMS) def. Ridley Potter/Seth Lipe (OXY) 8-5
Singles
1. Robert Liu (CMS) def. Matthew O'Connor (OXY) 6-0, 6-2
2. Philip Martin (CMS) def. Sam Coan (OXY) 6-3, 6-2
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. David Zhang (OXY) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jack Katzman (CMS) vs. Ridley Potter (OXY) 6-4, 5-1, unfinished
5. Christopher Li (CMS) vs. Seth Lipe (OXY) 6-1, 4-6, unfinished
6. Michael Hao (CMS) vs. Brett Miller (OXY) 6-2, 4-0, unfinished
Order of completion
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 3, 1, 2