ITA Officially Releases All-America Lists, CMS Women's Tennis Has Nation-Leading Five Selections

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association officially released its Division III All-America list this afternoon, and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis had five players earn All-America distinction, more than any other team in the nation (men or women).

Junior Catherine Allen earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles for CMS, while sophomore Rebecca Berger joined Allen on the All-America list for singles. Junior Nicole Tan, sophomore Caroline Cox and freshman Sarah Bahsoun, meanwhile, were all named to the ITA All-America list in doubles. 

Middlebury and Emory were each second with four All-America selections on the women's side, while the University of Chicago was the only men's program with four. A year ago, CMS had three All-America selections after earning the team national title, including Allen, who has now been honored five times in her three seasons (all three years in singles, and two years in doubles).

Selection criteria for Division III All-Americans in singles is any one of the following: a top-eight seed in the NCAA tournament, winning one round at the NCAA singles tournament, finishing in the Top 20 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, winning a USTA/ITA Fall Regional Tournament, or winning a first-round match at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.

All-American honors are awarded to doubles teams that are a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament, win one round at the NCAA doubles tournament, finish in the Top 10 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, win the USTA/ITA Fall Regional Tournament, or win a first-round match at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships. 

Allen and Cox wrapped up their All-America honors in doubles in the fall by winning the ITA West Region doubles championship in September, which they followed up by winning the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia in October. Allen then secured her singles honor by earning the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship.

The Athenas extended their All-America total from two to five with strong efforts in the NCAA Individual Championships. Berger secured her All-America honor in singles by knocking off Leah Bush, the tournament's No. 8 seed, in the opening round of the singles championship. Tan and Bahsoun, meanwhile, secured theirs with an opening-round win as well, and didn't stop there, advancing all the way to the finals where they fell to Cox and Allen in an all-CMS championship.  

Allen and Cox ended the year ranked No. 1 in doubles by the ITA, with Tan and Bahsoun ranked No. 2. Allen finished the season as the No. 2 ranked singles player, while Berger was No. 17 and Tan was No. 40.