CMS Men's Tennis Comes Up Just Short in NCAA Quarterfinal Round to Tufts

ORLANDO, Fla. - The fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team took a 2-1 lead after doubles, but third-ranked Tufts responded in singles to take a 5-3 win over the Stags in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals in sweltering weather conditions on Monday afternoon at the USTA National Tennis Campus.

The defeat ends the CMS season with a 27-7 record, while Tufts improves to 20-2 and advances to the national semifinals tomorrow to take on Chicago. 

CMS earned the first two points of the match, as Philip Martin and Matthew Robinson won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles, and Nathan Arimilli and Jack Katzman prevailed in a tiebreaker at No. 3. Tufts was able to salvage the final point at No. 2 doubles, though, and stay within 2-1 heading into singles. 

The Stags had a tough break when Robert Liu was unable to finish his match at No. 1 singles, retiring in the third set. Liu was under the weather coming in and began feeling the effects of the heat in the first set, when he dropped two straight games to see his lead close to 5-4, before finishing out a 6-4 win and a one-set lead.

Liu then led 4-0 in the second set, two games from a victory, before struggling to continue and needing a long medical timeout after Isaac Gorelik won three straight games to close to within 4-3. Gorelik finished off a 6-4 second set, and after a five-minute break, Liu was able to the first game of the third set. However, Gorelik took the next three, and Liu had to be helped off the court as he conceded the match. 

Christopher Li gave CMS some hope with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles for a third point, but the Stags needed to take the final two matches on the court after Tufts earned wins at No. 2 and No. 6. Katzman, who was up against defeat down 7-5, 5-2 at No. 4, had a furious rally to get back even at 5-5 in the second set, while Robinson battled on serve at No. 3 in his third set. However. Paris Pentousis was able to hold serve at No. 4 for a 6-5 lead, and then finish off a 7-5, 7-5 win for the clincher. 

Liu, ranked No. 5 in the nation in singles, is scheduled to enter the NCAA Division III singles tournament, which gets underway on Friday.