Claremont, Calif. (March 24, 2014) — This week in Sagehens Athletics saw the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams pick up huge wins, while the Women’s Water Polo team began SCIAC play with a win over La Verne.
Jonathan Kim ’16 won a thrilling third-set tiebreaker to complete a comeback in a 5-4 win over No. 12 Whitman on Monday for the Men’s Tennis team, and has won his last nine doubles matches in a row.
Women’s Tennis had a huge weekend in edging Redlands in a key SCIAC match on Friday and then winning the inaugural Hen-Athena Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, concluding a stretch in which they went 5-1 in 10 days against six opponents all ranked in the top 16 in the nation. The Redlands match on Friday came right down to the final point for a 5-4 win, but there was no such drama over the weekend, as the Sagehens rolled to an 8-1 win over No. 6 Middlebury on Saturday and then another 8-1 win over No. 16 Whitman on Sunday to capture the championship of the Hen-Athena Tournament. Marie Fleming ’16 returned to the lineup after missing several weeks with an injury and contributed with a key singles win in the 5-4 victory over Redlands, as well as doubles wins against Middlebury and Whitman.
The Sagehens are currently ranked No. 12 nationally, but have beaten the No. 6 (Middlebury), No. 7 (Bowdoin) and No. 8 (Carnegie Mellon) teams in the country since the last poll and will likely vault into the top 10 when the new poll is released this week. Pitzer-Pomona faces Caltech on Friday, travels to Occidental on Saturday, and then hosts No. 2 Williams for a huge match on Sunday at 12 noon.
Men’s Tennis also defeated Whitman in a key regional matchup, although this one was much closer as the Sagehens had to rally from down 4-1 to win the final singles matches for a 5-4 victory. Chris Wiechert ’14, Michael Chang ’15 and Jonathan Kim ’16 won the last three matches in order for the 5-4 win, with Kim’s coming down to a third-set tiebreaker, which he won 7-5. The Sagehens also fell to No. 4 Amherst 6-3 on Tuesday and defeated Tufts 7-2 on Wednesday. Kim and Sam Crawford PO ’16 won 8-1 at No. 3 doubles against both Amherst and Tufts to extend their winning streak to nine in a row. Men’s Tennis has a big week ahead with home matches against No. 28 Chicago on Monday, No. 2 Williams on Tuesday and No. 19 UC Santa Cruz on Friday.
Baseball had only one game this past week, but came from behind with a six-run seventh inning to defeat Wesleyan 6-4 at Alumni Field on Monday. Mark Okuma ’15 performed well in his first start on the pitching mound for the Sagehens, carrying a shutout into the sixth inning before taking a no decision. Baseball hosts a non-conference game on Wednesday against Pacific Lutheran at 3 p.m., and then faces a three-game series with La Verne, including a home doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Softball had a strong showing at the Tucson Invitational with a 2-2 record, defeating Denison 4-3 and Grinnell 15-0 on the second day of the event on Friday. Eden Griffen ’17 threw her first collegiate shutout in the Grinnell game, allowing just three hits over five innings, while Ashley Morello ’15 singled and doubles in a nine-run first inning. Softball has a home doubleheader with Willamette on Wednesday at 2 p.m., travels to La Verne on Friday for a twinbill and then hosts Cal Lutheran on Saturday in a noon doubleheader.
Women’s Water Polo had a busy week with six matches in four days, picking up a 9-4 win over La Verne in its SCIAC opener, while also adding a 14-6 win over CSU San Bernardino at Loyola Marymount’s Tournament (where it went 1-3, with losses to No. 8 LMU and No. 10 Princeton). Alyssa Woodward ‘15 had two goals in the win over La Verne, while Ahsha Earwood ’17 had 12 saves. Women’s Water Polo hosts Brown on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and then entertains Cal Lutheran on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Occidental on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a pair of SCIAC matches.
Women’s Lacrosse split the week against two non-conference opponents, defeating Sewanee 12-9 and then falling to undefeated Allegheny 13-10. Sarah Markowitz ’16 had three goals against Sewanee and four others had two apiece, including Jana London ’14 and Aubrey Douglass ‘16. The Sagehens have three home games this week, facing DePauw on Monday, Carthage on Wednesday and North Central on Thursday, all at 7 p.m.
To keep up to date with all of the news from Sagehens athletics, visit us on line at www.sagehens.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sagehens or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sagehens (@Sagehens).
This Week’s Schedule
Home Events In Bold
Monday, March 24
Men’s Golf at The West Cup, 9 a.m. (Bear Creek)
Men’s Tennis (H) vs. Chicago, 4 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse (H) vs. DePauw, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25
Men’s Golf at The West Cup, 9 a.m. (Bear Creek)
Women’s Water Polo (H) vs. Brown, 4 p.m.
Men’s Tennis (H) vs. Williams, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26
Softball (H) vs. Willamette, 2 p.m. (DH)
Baseball (H) vs. Pacific Lutheran, 3 p.m.
Women’s Water Polo (H) vs. Cal Lutheran, 5 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse (H) vs. Carthage, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 27
Women’s Lacrosse (H) vs. North Central, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 28
Men’s Tennis (H) vs. UC Santa Cruz, 10 a.m.
Women’s Tennis (H) vs. Caltech, 2 p.m.
Softball at La Verne, 2 p.m. (DH)
Baseball at La Verne, 3 p.m.
Saturday, March 29
Women’s Tennis at Occidental, 10 a.m.
Men’s Track and Field at SCIAC Quad, 11 a.m. (at Oxy)
Women’s Track and Field at SCIAC Quad, 11 a.m. (at Oxy)
Women’s Water Polo (H) vs. Occidental, 11 a.m.
Baseball (H) vs. La Verne, 11 a.m. (DH)
Softball (H) vs. Cal Lutheran (H), 12 p.m. (DH)
Men’s Tennis at Caltech, 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 30
Women’s Tennis (H) vs. Williams, 12 p.m.
