KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A tiebreaker in No. 2 doubles went the way of Williams and with that the momentum of the match, as the top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s tennis team was edged 5-2 in the title match of the NCAA Division III Championships by No. 6 Williams on Wednesday evening at the Markin Center. The runner-up finish for CMS caps off a 30-4 season and is the program’s highest finish since 1994. For Williams, it is the school’s first men’s tennis title since back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.
In doubles, Williams got its first point of the match in No. 3 doubles as Brian Astraschan and Bryan Chow defeated senior Alex Lane (Claremont, CA) and sophomore Nikolas Marino (San Diego, CA) 8-5. The Stags answered as the No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Joe Dorn (Washington D.C.) and junior Zhenya Pereverzin (Clackamas, OR) won in a tiebreaker 9-8 (7-5) over Trey Meyer and Alex Schidlovsky to even the match score at 1-1. Williams then took No. 2 doubles to take a 2-1 lead as Matt Micheli and Felix Sun defeated freshman Skyler Butts (Santa Ana, CA) and junior Neel Kotrappa (La Verne, CA) in a tiebreaker 9-8 (7-5).
Williams took the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-4, respectively, to push its lead to 4-1. In No. 1 singles, Dorn narrowed Williams’ lead to 4-2 with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 win over Meyer. Chow then got the clincher for Williams with a 6-0, 6-0 win over senior Alex Johnson (Thousand Oaks, CA) in No. 5 singles as Williams avenged its 5-4 loss to CMS earlier in the season in Claremont.
#6 Williams (5) vs. #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2) May 22, 2013 at Kalamazoo, MI (Markin Center) - NCAA Team Championships Finals
Doubles 1. Joe Dorn/Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) def. Trey Meyer/Alex Schidlovsky (WIL) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Matt Micheli/Felix Sun (WIL) def. Skyler Butts/Neel Kotrappa (CMS) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Brian Astraschan/Bryan Chow (WIL) def. Alex Lane/Nikolas Marino (CMS) 8-5
Singles 1. Joe Dorn (CMS) def. Trey Meyer (WIL) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
2. Matt Micheli (WIL) def. Nikolas Marino (CMS) 6-2, 6-2
3. Felix Sun (WIL) def. Alex Lane (CMS) 6-2, 6-4
4. Skyler Butts (CMS) vs. Zach Weiss (WIL) 4-6, 6-1, 3-1, unfinished
5. Bryan Chow (WIL) def. Alex Johnson (CMS) 6-0, 6-0
6. Neel Kotrappa (CMS) vs. Howie Weiss (WIL) 1-2, unfinished
Match Notes Williams College 22-3
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 30-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,3,1,5)
NCAA III Championship - Match moved indoors due to rain.
7-5 tiebreak at 1 doubles. 7-4 tiebreak at 2 doubles. 7-2 tiebreak at 1 singles
Become a fan of CMS Athletics on Facebook: AthleticsCMS Follows CMS Athletics on Twitter: @AthleticsCMS