Top-Ranked CMS Women's Tennis Outlasts No. 10 Redlands 7-2

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's team was tested by No. 10 Redlands on Wednesday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center, but the Athenas were able to hold tough and take a 7-2 win to stretch their winning streak to 41 matches.

CMS now stands at 18-0 this season, and 5-0 in the SCIAC, while Redlands slips to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the SCIAC. 

Sena Selby and Audrey Yoon won at No. 2 doubles, taking the tiebreaker 7-2, and then took singles wins at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Nikolina Batoshvili had a singles/doubles sweep as well, winning at No. 1 doubles with Alisha Chulani in a tight 8-6 battle, and then picking up a win at No. 5 singles, while Ella Brissett (No. 4) and Muduo Zhuo (No. 6) added singles wins. 

The Bulldogs took the first doubles point at No. 2, but Selby and Yoon were able to level the match and Batoshvili and Chulani were able to give CMS a 2-1 lead going into singles. Batoshvili then picked up a quick 6-3, 6-1 singles win to give CMS the 3-1 lead, and Selby won in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) to put the Athenas on the verge of a clinch. 

Yoon had a tight battle at No. 1 singles, but was able to come through with the fifth and decisive point (7-6, 6-4), while Zhou followed with a win at No. 6 in another tight two-setter by the same 7-6, 6-4 score to give CMS a 6-1 lead. Brissett finished off the nearly four-hour match with a comeback three-set win when her opponent was forced to retire in the third-set tiebreaker (4-6, 6-4, 6-6) to make the final score 7-2.

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Hope International at 9:30 a.m. and Chapman at 1 p.m.