CMS Men's Tennis Pulls Out Dramatic Comeback Win over WashU in NCAA Quarterfinals
ORLANDO, Fla. - Ian Freer and Warren Pham both came back from a set down for three-set wins to take the final two points of the match as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis team defeated third-ranked Washington University 5-4 in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals on Saturday at the US Tennis Association National Campus in Orlando.
With the win, CMS improves to 22-4 on the season and stretches its winning streak to 15 in a row, while advancing to the semifinal round on Monday against No. 2 Tufts. WashU sees its season come to a close at 19-7.
Christian Settles and Pham each won in both singles and doubles for the Stags, with Pham earning an 8-0 win in doubles with Advik Mareedu and then picking up the clincher at No. 5 singles with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win. Settles won his 22nd of the season at No. 1 doubles with Matthew Robinson 8-3, and then picked up the first singles point at No. 4 with a 6-3, 6-2 win to give CMS a 3-2 advantage.
WashU, though, seemed to have the momentum by winning the first set on five of the six singles courts. Abhi Ramireddy evened the contest at two matches all with a striaght set win No. 2, while Phuc Huynh saved a set point in the first before grinding out a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 1 to pull the Bears even at 3-3. Eric Kuo then won a tight battle with Daniel Blackman at No. 6 (7-6, 6-4) to give WashU the lead 4-3.
Freer also lost a tough first set at No. 3, and then began a comeback from 4-2 down in the second set that would swing the match in the Stags favor. He won 10 of the final 11 games of the match from Jared Phillips for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 that tied the match at 4-4.
Similarly, Warren Pham had also dropped the first set 7-5, but raised his intensity and his level to win the final three games of the second set. Pham had a deuce point at 4-2 to go up two breaks in the third set, but Colin Scruggs of WashU was able to keep things close and force Pham to serve for the match at 5-4. Pham served out the final game with confidence, his second clinch in a big 5-4 win, including the regular season finale against Pomona-Pitzer.
CMS will advance to face Tufts after a day off on Monday, which will be a rematch of last year's quarterfinals, which the Jumbos won 5-3. Tufts also won a regular season rematch at CMS back on March 24 by a 7-2 score.
#6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5) vs. #3 Washington University St. Louis (4)
May 13, 2023 at Lake Nona, FL. (USTA National Campus) NCAA Quarterfinal
Doubles
- Matthew Robinson/Christian Settles (CMS) def. huc Huynh/Abhi Ramireddy (WASHU) 8-3
- Gaurav Singh/Scott Yamamoto (WASHU) def. Ian Freer/Morgan Schilling (CMS) 8-4
- Advik Mareedu/Warren Pham (CMS) def. Pato Garcia Muriel/Colin Scruggs (WASHUM) 8-0
Singles
- Phuc Huynh (WASHU) def. Advik Mareedu (CMS) 7-5, 7-5
- Abhi Ramireddy (WASHU) def. Matthew Robinson (CMS) 6-4, 6-2
- Ian Freer (CMS) def. Jared Phillips (WASHU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
- Christian Settles (CMS) vs. Gaurav Singh (WASHU) 6-3, 6-2
- Warren Pham (CMS) def. Colin Scruggs (WASHU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
- Eric Kuo (WASHU) def Daniel Blackman (CMS) 7-6(3), 6-4
Order of completion
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 2, 4, 1, 6, 3, 5
