CMS men’s tennis took to the court last Friday to face off against Cal Lutheran. In resounding fashion, the Stags swept Cal Lutheran 7-0, solidifying their dominance in the league and rewarding months of preparation founded on years of experience and dedication.
The win moved them to 22-1 on the year and they remain undefeated atop the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), looking to build upon the program’s 31 championship wins.
The Stags took early leads before Cal Lutheran could find its footing, living up to their standing at the top of the DIII men’s tennis polls.
“We had a lot of guys out today that usually don’t play, so they were eager to step on the court, and came out firing,” No. 1 singles Warren Pham HM ’26 said. “Some may be a little bit more nervous than others, but they still found a way where everyone came out with the victory at the end.”
The Stags surrendered only one set throughout the match — no moment posed a serious threat to their commanding win.
The three doubles duos won 6–1, 6–3 and 6–1 respectively to secure the opening points. Five of the six singles matches were won in straight sets, including the shutout performances from Pham and No. 6 singles Anirudh Reddy CM ’27.
“We [needed] to make sure to step on the gas throughout the entire match, and not let up,” Pham said.
To begin the season, the Stags won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Indoor Team National Championship earlier in mid-February, earning them the No. 1 spot among DIII teams nationwide. They have followed that up with wins over top-10 UChicago and Bowdoin, with their only loss coming against No. 2 Tufts.
Advik Mareedu, HM ’26 explained that their success stems from a strong sense of mutual commitment towards accountability within the team.
“We’re pretty comfortable with letting each other know when someone’s out of place, or someone’s not sticking to that standard,” Mareedu said. “We’ve been trying to make a better effort of holding others accountable if they’re slacking off.”
Tennis can be strongly influenced by team dynamics. Josh Kim CM ’27 noted his appreciation for the upperclassmen who have stepped up as mentors.
“[Mareedu] exemplifies excellence on the tennis court,” Kim said. “He’s been our rock. He’s the guy to raise his hand to play another match after we’ve had a long weekend when everyone doesn’t want to play because they’re tired.”
In addition to mentorship from upperclassmen, Kim credits the team’s inter-generational support for CMS’s continued success.
“You look at our alumni event, we have so many people,” Kim said. “We had seven generations of Stags tennis show up to our alumni event this year, and that really just goes to show how much people care about the team, even being so far moved in terms of time, they still make the effort to come back to Claremont and reconnect.”
Amid the success, head coach Paul Settles has been a steady presence in the program, guiding each of his rosters through 21 seasons at CMS to achieve the best results.
“Sometimes I feel like we put a little too much pressure on ourselves and maybe haven’t performed at the highest level,” Settles said. “So far this year, I think this team is making great progress … This is supposed to be fun, and it is fun.”
As the team balances fun and competition, the standards have not slipped in the pursuit of sustaining excellence, both on and off the court.
“These are 11 guys who really care about each other deeply and would sacrifice greatly for one another,” Settles said. “The real challenge is, can they hold themselves accountable when it really matters? I think we’re still learning how to do that. That’s a lot to expect of 18- to 22-year-old young men, but they’re getting better at it, and we’re practicing it.”
Settles denoted the Greek word “Hupomone” as this year’s theme for the team. The word translates to endurance and steadfastness, and the team aims to promote these qualities by balancing enjoyment and hard work.
Having already beaten the best teams in the country and winning a national title, the team makes no plans to stop, and the sweep against Cal Lutheran was a testament to that goal.
With only six more game days left in the season and an already dominant showing in the SCIAC, the Stags will look to refine their game on April 10 at 10 a.m. against Hope International University in Fullerton, CA. They will return to conference play that same day, with the second half of the doubleheader at Whittier College at 3 p.m.
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