CMS Men's Tennis Wins Stag-Hen in Dramatic Fashion, Takes Down Bowdoin 4-3

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Anirudh Gupta earned a 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles to break a 3-3 tie, coming back from 5-3 down in both the second and third sets, as the seventh-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team outlasted No. 6 Bowdoin in a four-hour match (4:04) for the championship of the Stag-Hen Invitational on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The tournament title was the Stags' 10th in the event's history, with their first coming in the 2007 innaugural year.

The Stags came back in the evening to add a 7-0 non-conference win over Colorado College to complete a four-win weekend. With the wins, CMS improves to 10-3 overall after also defeating George Fox (7-0) and Babson (7-0) at the Stag-Hen Invitational this weekend. Bowdoin slips to 7-1 after suffering its first loss and Colorado College falls to 4-7. 

Before Gupta's comeback, Matthew Robinson also rallied after dropping the first set to win at No. 3 singles 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, while Ian Freer won in straight sets at No. 2 in a close battle 7-5, 6-3. The Stags earned the doubles point with Josh Kim and Tarm Rojanasoonthon winning 7-5 at No. 3, after Freer and Robinson earned the first win at No. 1. 

Gupta had to really dig down twice in order to come away with his win. He fell in a first-set tiebreaker 8-6, and then served at 3-5, love-forty and saving four consecutive match points to keep the match alive at 5-4. He then broke serve again to level the set at 5-all before winning the final two games to force a third set.

Both players stayed on serve in the first six games of the third until Bradley broke in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead. Gupta fell behind 40-love in the eight game but got back to deuce before being outplayed on the sudden death point. Once again facing a 3-5 deficit, Gupta held at fifteen to make it 4-5, and then broke at fifteen to level the match at 5-all.  After holding again, and now with a chance to break for the match, Gupta hit an angle slice backhand passing shot off a seemingly unplayable drop shot at 15-30,  to set up match point. After a short rally, a Bradley backhand sailed long and the Stags bench erupted in elation, as Gupta had clinched the win for the Stags.

There were battles up and down the line-up, as Josh Kim went into a third-set tiebreaker for a tight defeat, and Warren Pham earned a split after dropping the first set, before falling in three. 

CMS earned the doubles point quickly, against Colorad College, with Kim and Rojanasoonthon clinching it with a 6-2 win at No. 3, after Advik Mareedu and Anirudh Reddy won at 6-1 at No. 2. Reddy earned a quick 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 6, Rojanasoonthon rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4, and Mareedu provided the clinch at No. 1 with a 6-3, 6-1 win. 

Warren Pham won in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 3, 6-3, 6-3, 10-7, and Matthew Robinson earned a 7-6, 6-1 win at No. 2. Kim finished off the sweep in eventful fashion, earning a 7-5, 7-6(14) win on his tenth match point and the thirtieth of the second set tie-break.

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center, when it battles Tufts in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Semifinals, which the Jumbos won 5-4. 

#7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (4) vs. #6 Bowdoin(3)
March 16, 2024 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center, Stag-Hen Championship Match)

Doubles
1. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Tristan Bradley/Reid Staples (BOW) 6-4
2. Ethan Bradley/Jackson Codd (BOW) def. Advik Mareedu/Anirudh Reddy (CMS) 7-6(4)
3. Josh Kim/Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) def. Mark Kneiss/Andrew Mendelson (BOW) 7-5

Singles
1. Tristan Bradley (BOW) def. Advik Mareedu (CMS) 6-1, 6-3
2. Ian Freer (CMS) def. Reid Staples (BOW) 7-5, 6-3
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Mark Kneiss (BOW) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
4. Anirudh Gupta (CMS) def. Ethan Bradley (BOW) 6-7 6), 7-5, 7-5
5. Andrew Mendelson (BOW) def. Warren Pham (CMS) 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3
6. Mick Tamas (BOW) def. Josh Kim (CMS) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)

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

#7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7) vs. Colorado College (0)
March 16, 2024 at Claremont, CA. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Aiden Little/Andrew Kaelin (CC) 6-4
2. Advik Mareedu/Anirudh Reddy (CMS) def. Nick Anderson/Dominik Kaminski (CC) 6-1
3. Josh Kim/Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) def. Lucas Pastor/Nate Beerman (CC) 6-2

Singles
1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Andrew Kaelin (CC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Lucas Pastor (CC) 7-6(3), 6-1
3. Warren Pham (CMS) def. Aiden Little (CC) 3-6, 6-3, (10-7)
4. Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CMS) def. Hudson Chris (CC) 6-1, 6-1
5. Josh Kim (CMS) def. Nate Beerman (CC) 7-5, 7-6(14)
6. Anirudh Reddy (CMS) def. Jack Delafield (CC) 6-0, 6-3

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