#18 Caltech Women’s Tennis Defeats Occidental

Caltech Women’s Tennis defended its No. 18 Division III national ranking with a convincing win at Occidental College Saturday evening, the team’s second win in as many days.

“This weekend really tested us in so many ways,” said Head Coach Nyssa Peele. “Seeing us come through in both matches is just a great testament to the character we have on this team. Even if a court didn’t go our way, we competed on every point, and we fought for each other. It wasn’t easy, but we found a way to win, and hard wins are what help teams get stronger.”

Occidental did jump ahead to a two-point lead early on, although senior Grace Wilson (Alpharetta, Ga. / Forsyth Central) and sophomore Hannah Ramsperger (Zürich, Switzerland / Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich) denied the hosting Tigers a sweep of the doubles session by downing their #3 Doubles foes by a 6-2 score. Oxy then grabbed another match point in #1 Singles, but Caltech put a stop to the home team after that.

Ramsperger continued her success with a methodical 6-0, 6-1 rout in #5 Singles, and first-year Naya Kessman (Fayetteville, Ark. / Haas Hall Academy) followed closely in the sixth position with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph to pull the Beavers level with the Tigers at 2-2.

Rookie Carissa Gerung (Portland, Ore. / Jesuit) picked up her team-leading ninth singles win of the season with a 6-1, 7-6(4) straight-set victory on Court 3, and senior Anika Arora delivered on Court 4, rallying from a first-set loss for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win to give Caltech the decision.

Senior Payal Patel padded the Beavers’ lead with the final singles match, downing regional No. 16 Elina Shalaev in the second position by set scores of 6-3 and 7-5.

Coach Peele and the Beavers will have a few days to rest before hosting SCIAC rival University of Redlands on Tuesday afternoon.