Ward and Kuosman close season as runner-up at NCAA Tennis Championships

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – On the final day of the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships, junior Katie Kuosman (CMC) and senior Caroline Ward (CMC) of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished as the doubles national runner-up. The Athenas won their morning semifinal match in two sets to advance, but in the finals, lost in three sets (2-6, 6-2, 2-6) to Juli Raventos and Linda Shin of Williams on May 28 at Stowe Stadium in a match between the top-two seeds.

It is the third-straight runner-up finish for Ward and Kuosman and fourth-straight in doubles for the All-American Ward, who caps her Athena career with another trophy and as one of the most decorated players in program history.

Saturday's finals were a rematch of the 2015 championship match in Mason, Ohio. Then earlier this season on March 25, Ward and Kuosman defeated Raventos and Shin 8-5 in a 7-2 CMS team loss to Williams at Emory.

The top-seeded Athenas were unable to carry the success from their early-season win over the Williams doubles team into the championship match. In the first set, the score stood at 1-1. Raventos and Shin then won four-straight games to take control on their way to a 6-2 first set win.

In the second set, the Athenas flipped the score and took the set 6-2 to even the match at 1-1 and force the third and deciding set. Similar to the first set, the second set started out at 1-1. Ward and Kuosman responded with two-straight games before Raventos and Shin moved within a game at 3-2. The Athenas closed out the second set win by taking the next three games.

Raventos and Shin had command of the third set from early on as they moved ahead 4-0. The Athenas took the next game to make it 4-1 but had to hold on to do so. Ward and Kuosman were up 40-15 before Raventos and Shin brought the game to deuce. The Ephs took two of the final three games to capture the win.

In the semifinals, Ward and Kuosman quickly took care of Aashli Budhiraja and Eudice Chong of Wesleyan University 6-0, 6-2. CMS led 3-0 in the second set of the semifinals before Wesleyan won its first game.

By Chris Watts
Director of Athletics Communication
Claremont McKenna College

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