CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Nik Marino and Skyler Butts earned singles and doubles wins to lead Claremont-M-S to its third victory of the season against Pomona-Pitzer. The Stags advanced to their fifth consecutive NCAA team quarterfinal with a 5-1 win on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
CMS gained a 2-1 advantage after doubles on the strength of solid performances from Butts and Neel Kotrappa at No. 2 doubles and Marino and Zhenya Pereverzin at No. 3 doubles. Butts and Kotrappa rebounded from their first loss of 2014 to a DIII doubles team on Friday, with a suffocating 8-1 victory to put the Stags up 1-0. Marino and Pereverzin trailed 1-3 at the third position before winning seven of the past eight games at No. 3.
Butts increased CMS' lead to 3-1 with his 31st singles win of the year, a convincing 6-1, 6-1 effort at No. 4. Marino battled himself and the conditions, but settled down to win the last three games and put the Stags ahead 4-1 in matches. Pereverzin needed five match points at No. 6 singles before freshman Daniel Morkovine snatched the clinching victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles. Morkovine is now 22-4 in singles this season.
CMS improves to 28-1 and will face Johns Hopkins in the NCAA team championship quarterfinal on May 19 at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
