Caltech Women's Tennis improved its win total in 2024-25, commanding respect in one of the toughest conferences in NCAA Division III Tennis.
The Beavers' success drew national attention, earning a national ITA team ranking every week of the season. That run included five consecutive weeks ranked inside the top 25 from March 26 to April 30.
First-year Carissa Gerung (Portland, Ore. / Jesuit) and Senior Anika Arora (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) led the colony for the Beavers in 2024. The two touted 11-2 and 10-4 singles records ranking first and second on the team, respectively. Senior Payal Patel (Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth) notched seven singles wins in the season, including a 4-0 record on the number two court. She never had a losing season in singles at Caltech, going 26-19 during her four-year career with the Beavers.
As a team, Caltech hit its stride beginning with a 5-2 victory over UC Santa Cruz Feb. 22. The Beavers won five of the six singles matches in the dual, with all five victories coming in two sets. In those five victories, the Beavers surrendered fewer than four games in every set aside from one as they routed the Banana Slugs from the start of the afternoon.
The victory over UC Santa Cruz began a month-long winning streak that saw the Beavers upend then-No. 27 Mary Washington University, Colorado College and Whitman College. No team took more than 2 points in a dual with Caltech during that stretch. During the month that the Beavers were undefeated, their national team ranking rose nine spots from No. 38 to No. 29.
The four-match win streak was itself part of a 6-2 stretch in which Caltech's only two losses came to national top-20 programs, including No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the road. Meanwhile, the Beavers defeated two ranked teams during their half-season hot streak, including No. 33 Colby College in a 4-3 nailbiter on the Caltech Tennis Courts.
Multiple Beavers dominated their singles matches in the victory against Colby. Most notably, Senior Yoyo Benchetrit (Toronto, Canada / St. Clements) stunned her opponent 6-1, 6-0 on the number 1 court while Patel orchestrated a 6-2, 6-1 masterpiece on the second court. Gerung and sophomore Anna Tanaka (Honolulu, Hawaii / IMG Academy) each won a set 6-0 en route to two-set victories in singles against Colby.
As the calander turned to the final month of the season, Caltech produced two more victories, both of them in road conference matchups. The Beavers first defeated Chapman University, 4-3, on April 11 before dispatching Occidental College 5-2 the next day.
With so many highlights to the 2024-25 season, the season looks bright for Caltech Women's Tennis. Keep an eye out for a 2025-26 season schedule release later this summer.
