Chapman cruises to first round win, next faces No. 12 Claremont
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Chapman University women's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III West Regionals with a 5-0 win over Grinnell College (Iowa) on Thursday afternoon at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The Panthers will play face host Claremont on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals.
The No. 15-ranked Panthers had little trouble with unranked Grinnell, sweeping three doubles matches and then getting straight-sets wins in singles from top seed senior Liz Lewis and sixth seed sophomore Genna Ford. NCAA playoff matches are called when one team reaches five wins, although Chapman led three of the other four singles matches when the match was called.
Lewis and senior Kelley Fox – ranked No. 4 in the West Region in doubles – defeated the Pioneers' Laura Krull and Sadhana Athreya 8-4 in the top-seeded doubles match to complete the sweep. Chapman's two-time All-America duo improved to 14-9 this season.
Lewis then improved to 13-6 in singles play with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Krull from the No. 1 position. The senior is ranked No. 3 in the West.
Meanwhile, Ford clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Grinnell's Tatyana Sukharnikova. Ford is the Panthers' leader in wins this season with a record of 17-5.
The Panthers will play in the second round for the third straight year and are a win away from a second consecutive regional finals appearance. Chapman and Claremont recently squared off in the regular season finale at Claremont with the Athenas earning a 6-3 win. Claremont is ranked No. 2 in the West Region and No. 12 in the nation.
The winner of Chapman-Claremont will face the winner of top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Linfield College (Ore.) on Saturday for the regional championship.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Match Results:
Doubles
#1: Liz Lewis /Kelley Fox (CU) def. Laura Krull/Sadhana Athreya (GC) 8-4
#2: Melissa Boyer/Gena Ford (CU) def. Constanza Alarcon/Catherine Fitch (GC) 8-1
#3: Kelley Klebenow/Danielle Kaiden (CU) def. Clothilde Thirouin/Tatyana Sukharnikova (GC) 8-1
Singles
#1: Lewis (CU) def. Krull (GC) 6-0, 6-0
#2: Fox (CU) led Alarcon (GC) 6-2, 2-2
#3: Boyer (CU) led Thirouin (GC) 6-2
#4: Athreya (GC) led Klebenow (CU) 6-5
#5: Kaiden (CU) led Hanna Feldman (GC) 7-6 (2), 0-1
#6: Ford (CU) def. Sukharnikova (GC) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 2, 1; Singles: 1, 6