THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - In a match that featured the top two teams in the West Region of Division III men's tennis, No. 4 Cal Lutheran got a victory in the No. 1 doubles match and wins in the No. 1 and 2 singles contests but it was not enough as top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps grinded out a 6-3 victory at the Poulson Tennis Center Friday afternoon.
In a battle of the No. 1 and 2 ranked doubles groups in the West Region, Cal Lutheran's doubles duo of Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley got the best of Warren Wood and Joe Dorn 8-4. Ballou and Worley got out to a 4-1 start thanks to several aces from Ballou. With the win, Ballou and Worley improved their season record to 13-1 and have won 10 straight.
Unfortunately for the Kingsmen, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps rallied in the No. 2 doubles match with Skyler Butts and Neel Kotrappa defeating Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy 8-4. The Stags went up 2-1 headed into the singles matches after Nick Marino and Alex Lane captured the No. 3 doubles match against Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa 8-2.
Ballou and Wood were pitted against each other again in the No. 1 singles match with Ballou regionally ranked No. 1 and Wood No. 2. Cal Lutheran's top player got out to a fast start, taking the first set 6-1. However, Wood would battle back, winning the second 7-6. Remaining focused, Ballou rebounded with a resilient 6-0 third set victory to improve to 14-0 on the year.
In the No. 2 singles match, Worley, the No. 6 ranked player in the West Region, upset No. 5 Dorn 6-1, 7-5 to give CLU its third point of the day.
Ultimately, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps would find ways to win in the four other sets to earn the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory.
Marino defeated Nichols 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 3 singles match, Lane topped Treacy 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 4, and Butts took down Millet 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 5 singles contest.
Cal Lutheran No. 6 singles player Devon Belcher won the first set 6-3 against Alex Johnson but ran out of steam as Johnson rallied to win the next two sets 6-3 and 10-3 in a super set tie-break.
CMS stretches its win streak over CLU to 12 and takes over the top spot in the SCIAC standings. The Kingsmen sit in second.
Cal Lutheran (14-2, 4-1 SCIAC) has a quick turnaround as it hosts Whittier, Saturday, April 6 at the Poulson Tennis Center. Doubles matches are set to get underway at 10:00 a.m. with the singles matches to follow.
Results: CMS 6, CLU 3
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