CMS Women's Tennis Remains Undefeated with Two Home Court Wins

CLAREMONT, Calif. - After dropping the doubles point to Division I Army, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team responded to sweep singles (with three of the six matches going three sets) to take a 6-1 win over the Black Knights in the first of two matches on Sunday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

CMS also had a second match against Division III Vassar in the afternoon, and added a 7-2 win. The Athenas now stand at 13-0 on the season after the two wins, maintaining their top spot in the Division III polls. 

CMS and Army played by Division I scoring rules, with doubles counting for only a single point, which worked to the Athenas' advantage as Army won at all three doubles lines. Senior Nicole Tan and sophomore Sarah Bahsoun went to a tiebreaker at No. 3, but fell on the short end of the result. 

The Athenas were able to establish the momentum in singles, though, with first-year Justine Leong once again leading the way. Leong put forth a stellar 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles, tying the score at 1-1 and improving her record this season in singles to 19-1 (with the only defeat to Jada Hart of UCLA). 

Sophomore Sydney Lee also had a strong effort at No. 5 singles, taking the first set 6-0 and then facing a tougher battle in the second before prevailing 6-4 for a straight-set win. Senior Catherine Allen also had a straight-setter at No. 2, earning a hard-fought 6-2, 7-5 win to put CMS ahead 3-1. 

CMS needed one more singles decision to clinch, but Rebecca Berger (No. 3), Devon Wolfe (No. 4) and Caroline Cox (No. 6) each went three sets. Berger and Cox each shook off slow starts to earn the split, with Berger winning 6-3 in the second after falling 6-1 in the first, and Cox taking a 6-1 win in the second after dropping the first set 6-2. Wolfe, meawnhile, took the first set 6-3, but fell in the second 6-2. 

All three matches were tight coming down the stretch, but Cox was able to complete her match first and get the clincher at No. 6, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Berger followed with a 6-4 win in the third for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win and Wolfe went to a tiebreaker in the third, before completing the singles sweep with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 win, as she controlled the tiebreaker with a 7-2 victory. 

The teams also had a second exhibition match, which the Athenas also won 6-1. The Athenas swept doubles in the exhibition, with Madison Shea and Anna Kern winning 8-4 at No. 1, Wolfe and Anastasia Bryan-Ajania taking an 8-4 win at No. 2, and Sydney Lee and Berger earning an 8-2 win at No. 3. 

Singles also saw the Athenas take five of the six courts, as Bahsoun dominated at No. 1 for a 6-2, 6-0 win, Shea earning a tight 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3, Tan winning 6-4, 6-0 at No. 5 and Kern capturing a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6. Bryan-Ajania went three sets at No. 4, but prevailed 6-4, 1-6, 10-8. 

The Vassar match saw CMS take a 3-0 lead after doubles, as Allen and Cox bounced back from a defeat to Army for an 8-2 win at No. 1. Sydney Lee and Anna Kern won 8-1 at No. 3, and Wolfe and Bryan-Ajania won a tight battle at No. 2 doubles 8-6. 

Kern put CMS ahead 4-0 with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5, and Gabby Lee provided the clincher by closing out with two big winners for a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 3. Bahsoun quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 to make it a 6-0 CMS lead. 

The final three matches saw split sets after the Athenas had already clinched, and Vassar was able to earn third-set tiebreaker wins at No. 2 and No. 6. Tan finished off the match with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 win at No. 4. 

CMS will return to action on Wednesday for a single match against WashU, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.