CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Caltech men's tennis team took on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags Wednesday night after the Beavers' hard-fought SCIAC campaign earned them the fourth seed in the conference semifinals.
The battle between the two talented squads unfortunately ended Caltech's season as the national No. 3 hosts dealt a 4-0 sweep to the Beavers.
Caltech entered the match as the sixth-ranked program in the ITA West Region, also holding a No. 48 national ranking after finishing the regular season with a winning record for the eighth consecutive year.
The Beavers' top doubles duo of senior
Andrew Zabelo (Florham Park, N.J. / Newark Academy) and junior
Eric He (Martinsville, N.J. / Bridgewater Raritan) earned a No. 7 regional doubles ranking, and picked up a game against the top Division III doubles pair in the nation in Adbik Mareedu and Caleb Settles. Caltech first-years
Jan Safrata (Prague, Czech Republic / Gymnazium Evolution) and
Michael Gao (Chesterbrook, Pa. / Conestoga High School) picked up a pair of games in third doubles before CMS clinched the doubles dual point, leaving their set unfinished per SCIAC postseason rules.
Regional No. 13 Zabelo valiantly squared off with No. 1 Mareedu in first singles and picked up a game in each set. In fifth singles, Gao racked up four games in his second set against regional No. 18 Josh Kim.
Despite the unwanted result, the future look bright for this deep Caltech roster in the fall ITA Regionals and the the 2027 SCIAC campaign to follow. Stay connected with the team on
Instagram and at GoCaltech.com.
