Claremont, Calif: Pomona-Pitzer's tenacious comeback was not enough to overcome an early deficit as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas outlasted the Sagehens 5-3 to win the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis West Region Final.
In the rubber match of the 2016 Sixth Street Rivalry, it was the Athenas who started fast with a doubles sweep and persevered through a furious Sagehen rally during singles play to claim a 5-3 victory and berth to the NCAA Women's Tennis Division III Tournament Quarterfinals.
Pomona-Pitzer found itself in a tough position early, dropping all three doubles matches and quickly losing at the No. 3 in singles, leaving the Sagehens in need of a comeback for the ages to advance to their first Elite 8 since 2010.
At No. 1 doubles, Emily Chen and Maryann Zhao jumped ahead to an early 2-1 lead and rallied from a 4-2 deficit to draw it even at 5-5 but All-American tandem Caroline Ward & Katie Kuosman tallied three unanswered points to win the match. Both No. 2 & No. 3 saw the Sagehens fall behind 7-2 before staging major rallies to cut the deficits to 7-4 before falling in the subsequent set for two 4-8 losses.
Pomona-Pitzer would find their second wind to push the Athenas all the way to the brink led by Maryann Zhao's emotional three-set win over Katie Kuosman at No. 2. After dropping the first set 6-1, Zhao rebounded for decisive 6-0 and 6-2 wins in the final two sets to bring life back into both the team and Sagehen faithful in attendance at Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The Hens kept the comeback dream alive with wins at No. 1 and No. 5 as Caroline Casper earned her third win of the year over 2016 SCIAC Player of the Year Caroline Ward 6-3, 7-5 and Lea Lynn Yen defeating Jessie Cruz 6-1, 6-2 to cut the team deficit to 4-3.
The decisive match came at No. 4 between Mae Coyuito and Kyla Scott, with Scott putting the Athenas only one game away from clinching the match after taking the first set 6-2. Coyuito responded with a 6-2 win in the 2nd set, setting the stage for a high-stakes third set. While the two battled back and forth to a deadlock at 4-4, Scott would prevail in the end with two consecutive wins to clinch the match for the Athenas.
"After digging a three point hole by losing the doubles, our singles players battled for two and half hours to stage a comeback," said Head Coach Ann Lebedeff. "Led by senior Lea Lynn Yen winning handly at #5 singles, #1 freshman Carolyn Casper and #2 Maryann Zhao won in tight matches. The drama heightened when #4 Mae Coyiuto split sets as well as Arianna Chen at #6. Both matches came down to tough three setters. It was a heartbreaking loss at the end of a successful season of tennis."
Pomona-Pitzer finishes one of their most decorated dual seasons in program history with a 20-4 record highlighted by claiming their first ITA Indoor National Championship as well as earning the title of SCIAC Co-Champions, their first conference title since the 2009-10 season. The Sagehens will also have Caroline Casper, Maryann Zhao, and Emily Chen continue on to Kalamazoo, MI to compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships on May 26-28. Live coverage of the matches will be provided on the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics website.
