LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Apr. 16, 2022) – Caltech Women's Tennis defended their No. 22 national ranking by overpowering the Occidental Tigers in their penultimate SCIAC dual match of the 2021-22 season.

The Beavers came away with a 2-1 lead after the doubles session, with freshman Anika Arora (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) and sophomore Athena Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) putting Caltech on the board first with an 8-3 victory in second doubles.  Senior Michelle Hyun (Cerritos, Calif. / Gretchen Whitney) paired up with freshman Payal Patel (Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth) in third doubles and notched a near-perfect 8-1 score.

The Beavers then worked efficiently in singles play, conceding no more than three sets to their respective opponents in their convincing 5-1 session as Arora was the first to finish, defeating her Court Five opponent 6-2, 6-1, followed closely by Hyun in fourth singles with a 6-1, 6-2 win. Patel emerged victorious in sixth singles to clinch the win for Caltech, flying to a 6-2, 6-0 score. With that clincher, Arora, Huyn and Patel all went 2-0 on the day with wins in singles following their doubles victories.

Freshman Yochana Benchetrit (Toronto, Ont. / St. Clements) padded the score in third singles by a 6-1, 6-1 tally, and sophomore Emily Zhang (Sharon, Mass. / Sharon) ended the match on Court Two with a matching 6-1, 6-1 score. The victory was the Beavers' eighth of the season, imporoving their road record to 3-2 and their SCIAC record to 3-3, placing them firmly in the top half of the conference standings.

The Beavers will head up the coast for the 120th Ojai Valley Tournament, opening on Friday, Apr. 22.