THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Caltech women's tennis team finished its 2024 regular season on the road at California Lutheran University Saturday afternoon, prevailing in a nail-biter of a match and guaranteeing a spot in the SCIAC Women's Tennis Postseason Tournament.

Currently ranked No. 34 in Division III and sixth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) West Region, the Beavers faced a formidable opponent in the national No. 50 and regional No. 10 Regals. The hosts claimed the first two Doubles points on the top two matchups, but the Beavers got on the scoreboard with a critical win on #3 as junior Payal Patel (Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth) and first-year Hannah Ramsperger (Zürich / Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich) downed their opponents 8 games to 5.

Patel then made quick work of her #5 singles foe, posting a near-flawless 6-1, 6-0 score to even the teams at two match points each. Fellow junior Anika Arora (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) followed closely with a quick 6-3, 6-0 win on Court 3 to put the Beavers ahead, and then sophomore Anna Szczuka (Scotch Plains, NJ / Scotch-Plains Fanwood) pulled Caltech within one point of the decision with a 6-3, 6-1 victory in fourth singles.

Sealing the deal was Ramsperger on Court 2, with a straight-set win by scores of 6-1 and 6-2 for the Beavers' fifth match point, securing a winning record in SCIAC play and a spot in the conference semifinals.

"Road wins are never easy, and this gritty Regals team pushed us," Head Coach Benay Weintraub said. "Congratulations to this special team for earning a playoff spot. This has always been a goal of theirs, so to witness all of their hard work coming together is inspiring."

"It was even more special celebrating the end of season with our incoming Tennis Beavers on campus this week," she added. "The future is bright for Caltech Tennis!"

The win earned Caltech Women's Tennis its second SCIAC postseason appearance in three years

Weintraub and the Beavers will return to action in a couple weeks, facing either Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges or Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Thursday, May 2.