CLAREMONT, Calif. — The No. 4-seeded Caltech women's tennis team will battle the top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas on the road in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament semifinals this Thursday, May 2 at 4 p.m. The Beavers earned one of the four sports in the tournament after downing Cal Lutheran University in Caltech's final regular season match.

Caltech finished in fourth place in the conference standings after winning four of their seven SCIAC matchups during the regular season. The group kicked off conference play with a 7-2 win over Whittier College before they nabbed a 6-3 win over Chapman University and another 6-3 victory against Occidental College; the Beavers then clinched their spot in the postseason with a 5-4 win over Cal Lutheran.

It has been a strong season for head coach Benay Weintraub and the squad, who have received rankings as high as No. 21 nationally and No. 6 regionally (Div. III) — the latter of which they currently hold.

The team rosters a slew of talented players, including junior Emily Zhang (Sharon, Mass. / Sharon), who most recently ranked No. 18 in the region for singles. The Beaver has played every singles match this season in the first position, where she's achieved three impressive victories over conference foes.

One of those wins came over a nationally-ranked CMS player who currently comes in at 42nd in the country and sixth in the region. Zhang defeated the standout on Court 1 in Caltech's home match against the nation's top team; the Beaver dropped the first set 2-6 before storming back to a 6-4 win in the second and taking the match in the superset, 1-0 (12-10). It was one of Zhang's two wins this spring over a regionally-ranked opponent; she has also picked up two conference wins in doubles.

Also performing highly this season is rookie Hannah Ramsperger (Zürich / Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich), who has earned three singles victories against SCIAC players as well. The first-year secured all three wins from the second position.

Ramsperger has also excelled in doubles play where she has gone a perfect 4-0 against SCIAC foes alongside junior Payal Patel (Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth).

Junior Anika Arora (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) too wrapped up the regular season achieving three conference singles wins, with all three coming in the third spot.

Sophomore Anna Szczuka (Scotch Plains, N.J. / Scotch-Plains Fanwood) has earned an impressive four SCIAC singles wins this year, all in the fourth position. She sports an overall singles record of 8-4 this season.

Patel enters the postseason with a team-high five SCIAC singles wins as part of a 5-2 conference record and a team-high 10 singles wins as part of a 10-5 record. Four of her five conference wins came in the fifth position with the remaining victory coming on Court 3.

In doubles, Patel boasts a team-high five SCIAC wins as part of a 5-2 conference record; four were achieved with Ramsperger with one win coming alongside Zhang.

First-year Anna Tanaka (Honolulu / IMG Academy) picked up two singles wins over SCIAC foes this spring, with one coming in the fifth position and the other coming in the sixth. She added her first conference doubles win earlier this month alongside Zhang.

Fellow rookie Ritali Jain (San Jose, Calif. / Evergreen Valley) has earned one conference win in the sixth spot.

Junior Yoyo Benchetrit (Toronto, Ont. / St. Clemens) has also earned impressive victories this campaign, recording four singles wins and two in doubles. Two of the Canadian's singles wins came in the second spot with one coming on Court 3 and the other coming on Court 4. Both of her doubles wins came in the second spot.

Caltech will face an incredibly strong CMS squad who are coming off back-to-back national championship wins and 10 straight SCIAC titles. The Athenas enter the matchup with a No. 1 national ranking and a perfect 21-0 record.

The two teams battle this Thursday, May 2 at 4 p.m. Cheer on the Beavers in person at the Bizantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont; spectator tickets are available for $10 advance purchase here or $10 on-site (cash only). SCIAC students, faculty and staff with institutional ID and children under 12 are free.

Watch the action online and track live scores here.

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