Athenas Claim Two SCIAC Victories

The No. 9 ranked Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won two SCIAC matches this weekend, defeating La Verne on Friday, and Occidental on Saturday, both by scores of 9-0.

The Athenas got off to a fast start against La Verne, sweeping the doubles competition. Kristin Lim and Jessie Huang led the way at number one with an 8-2 decision.

In singles, CMS rested half of the usual starters. But they did not miss a beat. Freshaman Sarah Kukino [pictured] moved into the number one position and defeated Laina Matsuda is straight sets (6-4, 6-2). Victoria Santoro and Victoria Nichols played particularly well at five and six respectively. Both finished their matches in straight sets: Santoro 6-0, 6-1, and Nichols 6-1, 6-1.

Against Occidental, CMS also started the match with a sweep in doubles. At number two and three, the teams of Crystal Lim and Kukino, and Chloe Dobbert and Jaclyn Smrecek, were flawless, defeating their opponents by scores of 8-0.

CMS rested the other half of their lineup against the Tigers. But just as in the previous matches, the team more than held their own. Jessie Huang and Crystal Lim, at numbers two and three respectively, wasted no time dispatching their opponents, both in straight sets of 6-0. At number four, Kelly Chen provided an epic climax to the match. Chen battled her opponent Katrina Gould for nearly three hours. But the sophomore from Milpitas, CA prevailed in the third set tiebreaker (5-7, 6-4, 11-9).

Next weekend, the Athenas will host Redlands (No. 27) on Friday, April 13, and Pomona-Pitzer (No. 15) on Saturday, April 14.