No. 3 Women's Tennis Just One Week Away from New Season
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team is just one week away from getting the 2018 season underway. The Athenas travel to Azusa Pacific on Feb. 2 for their first match of the season when they take on the Cougars at 3:00 p.m. The 2018 slate will feature 17 home matches, beginning with contests against Caltech and UC San Diego on Feb. 3 of opening weekend.
See below for a full preview of the 2018 season:
A Look Back
For the better part of the last decade, the Athenas have been a mainstay on the National stage. Last season was no different as CMS claimed their seventh-straight and 19th overall SCIAC Championship while also advancing to the NCAA National Semifinal. The Athenas put together a perfect regular season and continued their dominate play into the NCAA Tournament with victories over East Texas Baptist (5-0), Pomona-Pitzer (5-3), and Washington-St. Louis (5-1) to advance to the National Semifinals.
Emory ended the Athenas' run in the Semifinals, but CMS finished the 2017 campaign with a 29-1 overall record and a third-place finish.
Following the 2017 season, the Athenas had a very strong showing during awards season. Their entire singles line-up earned All-SCIAC honors with Nicole Tan (CMC), Kyla Scott (HMC), and Catherine Allen (SC) earning First Team All-SCIAC and Katie Kuosman (CMC), Lindsay Brown (CMC), and Jessie Cruz (CMC) named Second Team.
In addition to the conference honors, Tan and Allen were named All-Americans by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for their singles play. The teams of Tan/Brown and Allen/Kuosman were honored as All-Americans for the doubles play last season. Tan was named the National Rookie of the Year by the ITA last season after a strong freshman campaign.
On the Court
The Athenas lost just one player to graduation from last season's National Semifinal team with Katie Kuosman completing her career. As a result, CMS welcomes back five All-SCIAC players and three of their All-Americans from a year ago. Despite the experience coming back this season, the Athenas are still a young team with just three upperclassmen on the roster.
Seniors Lindsay Brown and Kyla Scott along with junior Jessie Cruz are the lone upperclassmen on the squad. A six-member sophomore class makes up a vast majority of this year's team. As mentioned, Tan and Allen highlight the massive class after earning All-American status in both doubles and singles last season. Lauren Yamagami (CMC), Juliette Martin (HMC), Madison Shea (CMC), and Anastasia Bryan-Ajania (SC) round out the class.
The Athenas also welcome a pair of freshman with Rebecca Berger (CMC) and Caroline Cox (CMC) joining the squad this season.
What to Watch For
The Athenas begin the 2018 season with a busy opening weekend. CMS will be on the road against Azusa Pacific next Friday before hosting Caltech and UC San Diego on Saturday. As is the case most years. The 2018 version of the schedule features a majority of home matches and contests against some of the top teams in the country.
The second-half of March will be a particularly tough stretch with most of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) making trips to Claremont. The stretch starts on Mar. 15 when Amherst comes to town. Matches against Bowdoin (Mar. 17), Tufts (Mar. 21), last year's National Champion Williams (Mar. 24), and Middlebury (Mar. 30) follow. Just for good measure the Athenas will host last year's National Runner-Up, Emory on Mar. 25 to round out the stretch.
The other regular season match to circle on the calendar is the Sixth Street Rivalry with Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens will walk across the street to take on the Athenas on Apr. 12 at 6:00 p.m.
In addition to a full slate of home matches, CMS will also be hosting the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's National Championships on May 21-26.
On the Bench
David Schwarz is back on the bench for his fourth season as the head coach of the Athenas. Last season Schwarz was named the ITA 2017 Division III women's tennis Coach of the Year after leading the Athenas to a 29-1 season and their highest-ever finish in the National Tournament. Nyssa Peele, Kathy Settles, and Hank Krieger will join Schwarz on the bench as assistant coaches for the 2018 season.