Claremont, Calif. - Senior Jamie Solomon (Los Gatos, Calif. - pictured) and freshman Mae Coyiuto (Makati City, Philippines) won at No. 3 doubles and then took their singles matches at No. 1 and No. 3, as the Sagehens eked out a 5-4 win over Case Western on Thursday to stay unbeaten on the year.
With the win, No. 11-ranked Pomona-Pitzer improves to 7-0 on the year, with the last four wins coming against nationally ranked opponents. Case Western, which is ranked No. 30 nationally, slips to 8-5.
The Sagehens had to win on a day when they were not at their best, as they fell behind 2-1 after doubles, with Coyiuto and Solomon rallying from a 4-1 deficit to get an 8-6 win at No. 3 to salvage the single point. That proved to be crucial, as freshmen Lea Lynn Yen (Fullerton, Calif.) and Priya Amritraj (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) both battled through cramps/injuries after winning their first sets and ultimately fell in three.
As a result, the Sagehens needed a clean sweep of the top four lines to emerge with a win, and got it done with some wins in tight matches. Coyiuto was the exception to the tight match theme, as she breezed to a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 to tie the overall score at 2-2.
Solomon took the first set at No. 1, but was down a break in the second set at 3-2, when she pulled off four straight games to take a 6-3, 6-3 win and give the Sagehens a 3-2 lead. Junior Arthi Padmanabhan (Saratoga, Calif.) then broke for the final game of a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles, after multiple deuces to make the overall score 4-2.
A tight match at No. 2 between sophomore Sammy Chao (Hong Kong, China) and Case Western's Erika Lim ultimately decided the winning point, as Chao battled for a 7-5 win in the first set, and then came back from down a break to win the second set 6-4 and seal the match.
Yen kept fighting until the end at No. 5, serving underhand to close out the match, but dropped the second set 7-5 and then fell 10-8 in an extended tiebreaker for the third set with the match already decided. Amritraj, who was playing her first singles match of the spring, took a 6-4 win in the first set, but needed a medical timeout in the second set down 4-1, and lost the final two sets 6-3, 6-1, but not until the Sagehens already had the match in hand.
Pomona-Pitzer will conclude its busy stretch of three matches in three days with a tough home contest against No. 10 Bowdoin tomorrow at 2 p.m.
No. 11 Pomona-Pitzer 5, No. 30 Case Western 4
Singles:
1) Jamie Solomon (PP) def Sara Zargham 6-3, 6-3
2) Sammy Chao (PP) def Erika Lim 7-5, 6-4
3) Mae Coyuito (PP) def Taylor Sweeney 6-2, 6-0
4) Arthi Padmanabhan (PP) def Marianne Bonanno 6-3, 6-4
5) Surya Khadilkar (Case) def Lea Lynn Yen 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
6) Lauren Rovner (Case) def Priya Amritraj 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles:
1) Sara Zargham/Taylor Sweeney (Case) def Sammy Chao/Kara Wang 8-6
2) Erika Lim/Surya Khadilkar (Case) def Arthi Padmanabhan/Lea Lynn Yen 8-4
3) Jamie Solomon/Mae Coyiuto (PP) def Kathleen Evers/Michelle Djohan 8-6
Order of Finish:
Doubles 2,3,1
Singles 3,1,4,2,6,5
