Top-Ranked Athenas Tennis Remains Unbeaten, Sweeps Kenyon, Sewanee

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team showed no letdown after winning the ITA Indoor Nationals over second-ranked Chicago last weekend, returning home to earn an 8-1 win over Kenyon and a 9-0 win over Sewanee on Friday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

With the wins, CMS moves to 9-0 on the year as it continues on its pursuit of winning a third-straight national title. 

The only point that the Athenas lost on the day was the first one, as No. 18 Kenyon won at No. 1 doubles to start the 1 p.m. match. Alisha Chulani and Audrey Yoon were also down 4-1 at No. 2 doubles, but they responded and came back for an 8-5 win, which matched the score that Sena Selby and Muduo Zhou won at No. 3 doubles.

CMS swept in singles, but it wasn't easy as the Athenas went to three sets on three courts. CMS did get the clinch quickly, with Selby winning 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2, Zhou winning 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5, and Anna Petrescu earning a straight-set (6-3, 6-3) win at No. 4. 

The clinch meant that none of the three players who split needed to play a full third set, and all three Athenas controlled their tiebreakers for the three-set wins. Yoon won hers 10-2 at No. 1 singles, Nikolina Batoshvili won 10-4 at No. 3, and Arushi Malik picked up a 10-6 win in the third-set tiebreaker at No. 6. 

CMS swept in doubles in the second match against Sewanee, with Chulani and Batoshvili winning when returning to their familiar No. 1 spot, while Eisenman and Brissett earned an 8-5 win at No. 2, and the Athenas added an 8-2 win at No. 3 with Selby and Katherine Wurster taking the quick win. 

The Athenas then took straight-set wins on all six courts in singles. Eisenman dominated in her only singles match of the day, winning 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1, and Chulani provided the clinch at No. 2, where she won 6-4, 6-2. Wurster followed with a win at No. 4 (6-1, 6-3) and Ella Brissett battled for a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. 

Zhou closed her match with a flourish at No. 6 for a 6-3, 6-0 win, and Petrescu finished off the sweep with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 for her second singles win of the day. 

CMS will be back in action when it hosts Emory on Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by a match with WashU on Monday at 10 a.m.