Pomona-Pitzer men’s tennis continued rolling with wins over Whittier, UC Santa Cruz and Gustavus Adolphus after a tight loss to Middlebury. The results leave the Sagehens with a 10-8 record and a 12th-overall national ranking.
The Sagehens got off to a quick start March 29 against then seventh-ranked Middlebury, winning two of three doubles matches, highlighted by Max Sabel PO ’13 and Frankie Allinson PO ’13 rolling to a commanding 8-1 victory. After Tommy Meyer PO ’12 and Chris Wiechert PZ ’14 racked up quick straight sets singles wins, Middlebury took the final four matches to take a 5-4 victory.
“We’re playing pretty well right now,” Connor Hudson PO ’15 said. “We’re building up well to the end of the season.”
The next day, the Sagehens cruised to a strong 7-2 win over conference opponent Whittier. Sabel and Allinson both had banner days, winning their doubles match 8-2 and then both winning their singles match in three sets. Meyer, Wiechert and Hudson all had straight-set singles victories that then-20th-ranked Poets never seriously threatened.
In their third match, P-P faced the fifth-ranked UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, who knocked the Sagehens out of the NCAA DIII tournament last spring. The Sagehens got a measure of revenge thanks to hard-fought doubles wins by Sabel and Allinson (who were playing number-one doubles for the first time) and Wiechert and Alex Groth PO ’12. In singles play, Allinson, Sabel and Hudson ran off quick straight set wins, clinching a 5-4 victory.
“Three matches in three days is tough,” Hudson said. “We stayed pretty strong and got the wins as it progressed.”
The Sagehens defeated 26th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus the evening of April 4. Meyer and Singh won a tight doubles match 9-7, and Wiechert and Groth came back from love-40 at 7-6 to win 8-6. In singles play, Meyer dropped only one set en route to an easy win, and Wiechert, Sabel and Hudson all had straight-set wins to give the Sagehens the 6-3 victory.
“I’m pretty pleased with my play,” Hudson said. “I’m playing pretty well.”
The Sagehens have a break until the April 14, when they will play conference opponents Caltech and CMS on Tennis Alumni Weekend. After that, they have a final conference match against Redlands, and then the postseason will begin with The Ojai and the SCIAC championships. With the team rested and rounding into top shape, they should be a force in the weeks to come.