
Men's tennis closes season fourth in SCIAC
The fifth-seed Panthers opened the weekend on Friday morning with a 5-3 loss to fourth-seed Cal Lutheran. In the afternoon, Chapman then went on to defeat Caltech 7-2. The fifth place match on Saturday then positioned Chapman against Whittier with the Panthers solidifying fifth-place in a 7-2 victory over the Poets.
On Friday, Chapman fell 2-1 in doubles against the Kingsman with junior Brett Buford and sophomore Charlie Werman defeating Scott Fergus and Oliver Thornton 8-5 in the second match of the day. Buford then defeated Thorton 6-2 and 6-1 on court 4 while freshman Justin P. Thompson swept Kingsman Gio Valdez 6-2 and 6-1 from the No. 3 court.
In the afternoon, Chapman swept past Caltech winning two doubles matches and then sweeping five of the singles matches in straight sets for a 7-2 victory. Sophomore Sam Mitteldorf won both his sets 6-0 across the board on court No. 5 against the Beavers Ishan Mehta.
Playing for fifth place on Saturday morning, Chapman took the lead 2-1 in doubles matches with Werman and Buford solidifying an 8-4 victory on court No. 1 followed by an 8-4 win from junior Chris Damion and senior Justin Thompson on court No. 2. The Panthers then went on to take the lead 5-1 in singles winning four of the matches in straight sets.
Buford completed the weekend a perfect 6-0 record, including three straight wins with Werman in doubles play, improving the pair to 7-3 in their last ten matches. Werman went 5-1 over the weekend and now sits tied with captain senior Justin Thompson with 15 wins on the season.
Chapman (11-9 overall, 5-5 SCIAC) closed the regular season with its first winning record since 2005. The Panthers wrapped up the season ranked No. 38 nationally, maintaining a top-40 spot most of the season according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant
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