CMS Men's Tennis Shuts Out Caltech for 16th Straight League Title

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team swept doubles and Advik Mareedu and Matthew Robinson earned singles wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 lines as the Stags defeated Caltech 5-0 on Saturday afternoon in the finals of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

With the win, CMS improves its winning streak to 12 and moves its record to 19-4 on the year, while earning the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. It marks the 16th season in a row that the Stags have earned the SCIAC's auto bid, dating back to 2006 (and skipping the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the pandemic), with the last four coming via the postseason tournament title. 

The Stags had its closest doubles competition at No. 3, where Mareedu and Warren Pham led 7-6 trying to serve it out, but the Beavers were able to get it to a deuce point to decide the game. Mareedu served, and Pham was able to finish off the point with a volley at the net to give CMS the 8-6 win and a 2-0 lead. 

Christian Settles and Matthew Robinson won their sixth straight with an 8-5 decision at No. 1 doubles, while Ian Freer and Morgan Schilling finished off the sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 2, avenging a loss at No. 2 doubles when CMS played at Caltech on April 14.

CMS appeared like it would end the match quickly, as Mareedu and Freer each took quick 6-1 wins in the first set. The Beavers put up a fight, though, forcing the Stags to work for the final point. Mareedu improved his singles record at the top position to 26-4 on the season with a 6-1, 6-2 win, making the score 4-0, and Caltech surged ahead at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6.

Robinson and Pham put the Stags a point from victory on courts No. 2 and No. 5 leading 5-4 in the second set simultaneously. Pham played a brilliant all-court point on his first match point but was passed at net, leaving Robinson to finish things off three courts over with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. 

CMS will head back to the NCAA Division III Championships looking to earn their 12th straight NCAA Regional championship next week and advance to nationals in Orlando. A year ago, CMS reached the NCAA Quarterfinals, which was also held in Orlando, before falling 5-3 to Tufts. 

#6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. #15 Caltech (0)
April 29, 2023 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center - SCIAC Tournament Championship Match)

Doubles

1. Matthew Robinson/Christian Settles (CMS) def. Ishaan Kannan/Andrew Zabelo (CALTECH) 8-5
2. Ian Freer/Morgan Schilling (CMS) def. Kyle McCandless/Daniel Wen (CALTECH) 8-4
3. Advik Mareedu/Warren Pham (CMS) def. Rishi Gundakaram/Nathan Zou (CALTECH) 8-6

Singles

1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Kyle McCandless (CALTECH) 6-1, 6-2
2. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Ishaan Kannan (CALTECH) 6-3, 6-4
3. Ian Freer (CMS) vs. Andrew Zabelo (CALTECH) 6-1, 0-6, 1-4 DNF
4. Christian Settles (CMS) vs. Daniel Wen (CALTECH) 4-6, 6-6(4-1) DNF
5. Warren Pham (CMS) vs. Victor Li (CALTECH) 6-4, 5-4 DNF
6. Daniel Blackman (CMS) vs. Rishi Gundakaram (CALTECH) 7-5, 0-6, 0-5 DNF

Order of completion
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 1, 2