CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis team was pushed by second-seeded Pomona-Pitzer, but was able to earn a 5-0 shutout win to take the 2026 SCIAC Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
With the win, CMS moves to 23-1 on the year, including 23 straight wins since an opening-day loss in January to Division I UC Riverside, while Pomona-Pitzer slips to 10-8. The Athenas will earn the automatic bid from the SCIAC to the NCAA Division III Championships
CMS took the doubles point with 6-3 wins at No. 1 from
Lindsay Eisenman and
Rebecca Kong, and at No. 2 from
Celestina Cedillo-Vayson de Pradenne and
Ananya Sriniketh. The Athenas led at No. 3, where Leah aroudi and
Bell Zhou had a 5-4 advantage when their match was halted.
Singles was a battle, though, as four matches went to three sets. Sriniketh picked up a comeback win at No. 2 for the first singles point, earning a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win to put the Athenas ahead 2-0. Baroudi then bounced back after losing the second set and took a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win at No. 4 to put the Athenas on the brink of the clinch.
Zhou was up 6-2, 3-1 at No. 3 singles, but had to withstand a comeback from Sofia Kalyva, who surged ahead 4-3. Zhou went back in front 5-4, but Kalyva was able to stay in it at 5-5. Zhou, though, won the final two games to earn a 6-2, 7-5 win and secure the team clinch.
CMS added an additional point as Cedillo-Vayson de Pradenne finished off a simultaneous match point two seconds later for a comeback 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 to make the final score 5-0.
Shifali Dinesh was also ahead 6-2, 2-6, 4-2 in the third at No. 6 singles, and Kong was up in the second at No. 1 after winning a tiebreaker 7-4 in the first set, leading 7-6, 4-2.
CMS will await its tournament opponent and destination when selections are announced on Monday. The Athenas will try to win their regional and make it back to nationals for the 14th straight season, a stretch which includes national titles in 2018, 2022, and 2023.
