CMS Men's Tennis Knocks Off No. 1 Chicago for Third Place at ITA Indoors
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Advik Mareedu came back from 4-1 down in the third to win for the fourth point, and Matthew Robinson took a 7-5 win in the third set for the clincher, as the fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team defeated No. 1 and defending national champion Chicago 5-4 in the third-place match at the ITA Indoor Championships at the InnerCity Tennis Club in Minneapolis.
With the win, CMS moves to 6-1 on the year, and finishes 2-1 at the ITA Indoors with a win over Pomona-Pitzer and a defeat to Case Western. Chicago, which defeated host Gustavus Adolphus and lost to WashU in the semifinals, slips to 7-2.
CMS took a 2-1 lead after doubles, with Robinson and Ian Freer providing the swing point with a comeback 8-7 win at No. 2. Robinson and Freer came back from a service break down twice during the pro-set, but came back to tie, and then dominated the tiebreaker 7-1. The Stags No. 2 pair finished the tournament undefeated at 3-0, with two crucial tie-break wins. Nathan Arimilli and Christopher Li similarly came back from a break down early at No. 3, but took control for an 8-4 win to give the Stags their first point. CMS finished the weekend having won two of three doubles matches in each of their duals, and has done so in each of their seven overall matches.
CMS snatched the early momentum in the singles, taking five of six first sets. Christian Settles, seeing his first singles action of the tournament, put CMS up 3-1 with a straight-set win at No. 5. Settles trailed 2-4 in the first set before running off seven straight games and building a 6-4, 3-0 lead, which he ultimately consolidated on his own serve. Chicago quickly responded at No. 6 singles with a straight set win of their own, to cut the Stags' lead to 3-2.
Mareedu's match at No.1 may have turned out to be the most pivotal. After taking the first set 6-4, Mareedu yielded the lead late in the second and struggled to recover. Finding himself down 4-1 in the third without any rhythm from the baseline, the Stags' No. 1 rediscovered his consistency and confidence in a four game streak that put him ahead 5-4. He then held on for a 7-5 win that gave CMS a 4-2 advantage.
Chicago showed their resolve in coming back at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, erasing second set leads from Li and Freer to take second-set tiebreaks and third set victories at both positions. That left the match in Robinson's hands at No. 3, where he took the first set 6-3 and dropped the second 6-2. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third with two chances to go up 5-1, but Chicago's Emil Grantcharov fought his way back to level the match at 5-all. Unfazed, Robinson proceeded to win seven of the next nine points to give CMS the dramatic victory over Chicago.
Five Stags were named to the 2023 ITA Division III Men's National Team Indoor Championship All-Tournament Team. First Year Warren Pham represented CMS as the tournament's best No. 6 singles player, while the doubles teams of Freer/Robinson and Arimilli/Li earned the same accolade at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles respectively.
CMS will be back in action next weekend at Division II Point Loma on Saturday, and will have 5 teams participate in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships in La Jolla on Friday and Saturday.
#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. #1 Chicago (4)
February 26, 2023 at Minneapolis, MN - ITA D3 National Team Indoors 3rd/4th Place Match (Inner City Tennis)
Doubles
1. Derek Hsieh/Andrei Leonov (CHI) def. Christian Settles/Advik Mareedu (CMS) 8-4
2. Ian Freer/Matthew Robinson (CMS) def.ack Wong/Pat Otero (CHI) 8-7(1)
3. Nathan Arimilli/Christopher Li (CMS) def. Biren Reddy/John Walentowicz (CHI) 8-4
Singles
1. Advik Mareedu (CMS) def. Derek Hsieh (CHI) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
2. John Walentowicz (CHI) def. Christopher Li (CMS) 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
3. Matthew Robinson (CMS) def. Emil Grantcharov (CHI) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
4. Andrei Leonov (CHI) def. Ian Freer (CMS) 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
5. Christian Settles (CMS) def. Marek Michulka (CHI) 6-4, 6-3
6. Jack Wong (CHI) def. Warren Pham (CMS) 6-3, 6-4
Order of completion
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 5, 6, 1, 4, 2, 3