CMS, Redlands to host SCIAC tennis championships

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

The University of Redlands women and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men will take to the tennis courts this weekend looking to keep their perfect SCIAC records in tact. On the line will be a automatic bids to the upcoming Division III West Regionals.

“The way it used to be it didn’t matter if you lost early. You really wanted to peak at the right time,” Bulldogs coach Jim Ducey said. “Now you still want to peak at the right time but those matches early are also important because of the automatic bids.”

The two schools will be hosting the eight-team tournament beginning today. The women’s competition will be hosted by Redlands with some matches aslo played at Redlands East Valley High School.
The Stags will host the men’s draw with matches also played at neighboring Pomona-Pitzer as well as the Upland and Claremont Tennis Clubs.

The automatic bids will be awarded for a combined finish in the regular season and the tournament. Both host teams head in with 7-0 marks but that is just a coincidence since hosting rights are rotated alphabetically.

On the men’s side the Stags (20-7, 7-0) are currently ranked eighth nationally and third in the West but that was before they upset No. 1 UC Santa Cruz last Sunday.

CMS is led by junior Larry Wang, who holds down the No. 1 spot. Claremont native Drew Sabater has pulled out some clutch wins in the No. 5 hole.

“We’re playing pretty well right now and we’re coming off a couple of big wins,” CMS coach Paul Settles said. “We’re hoping to keep that momentum in this tournament.”

Redlands (18-6, 6-1), led by No. 1 Matt Liebman and No. 2 Eric Wagar, is seeded second and lost a hard-fought battle to CMS 5-4 a week ago in the regular-season conference finale for both teams.

No. 2 seed Pomona-Pitzer (11-7, 6-1) is the defending champion on the women’s side and boasts the reigning player of the year in sophomore Siobhan Finicane.
Redlands (13-4, 7-0) is currently ranked third in the West Region and has five of its six singles players returning. The new addition is sophomore Rachael Miller, whose father played for the Bulldogs in 1976 with Ducey.

“You like to think if you’re ranked high enough you can get an at-large bid if you don’t win,” Ducey said. “But you can’t take any chances.”

There is no admission charge for spectators at any of the sites.

MEN’S SCHEDULE

Friday’s matches (All at 9 a.m.) - No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. No. 8 Caltech at CMS; No. 2 Redlands vs. No. 7 Whittier (at Pomona-Pitzer); No. 3 Cal Lutheran vs. No. 6 La Verne (at Upland Tennis Club); No. 4 Occidental vs. No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer (at Claremont Tennis Club).

Next round (All at 1 p.m.) - CMS-Caltech loser vs. Occidental-Pitzer loser (at Claremont TC); Redlands-Whittier loser vs. Cal Lutheran-La Verne loser (at Upland TC); CMS-Caltech winner vs. Occidental-Pitzer winner (at CMS); Redlands-Whittier winner vs. Cal Lutheran-La Verne winner (at Pitzer).

Saturday’s matches (All at 9 a.m.) - Seventh place match (at Claremont TC); Fifth place (at Upland TC); Third place (at Pitzer); Championship - (at CMS).

WOMEN’S SCHEDULE

Friday’s matches (All at 8:30 a.m.) - No. 1 Redlands vs. No. 8 Caltech (at Redlands); No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer vs. No. 7 Whittier (at Redlands); No. 3 CMS vs. No. 6 Cal Lutheran (at Redlands East Valley HS); No. 4 Occidental vs. No. 5 La Verne (at REV).

Next round (All at 1:30 p.m.) - Redlands-Caltech winnner vs. Occidental-La Verne winner (at Redlands); Pitzer-Whittier winner vs. CMS-Cal Lutheran winner (at Redlands); Caltech-Redlands loser vs. Occidental-La Verne loser (at REV); Pitzer-Whittier loser vs. CMS-Cal Lutheran loser (at REV).

Saturday’s matches (All at 10 a.m.) - Championship and third-place matches (at Redlands); Fifth and seventh place matches (at REV).