CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Beavers opened the SCIAC Semifinal with a statement win in the doubles session on the home courts of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, the No. 2 program in the latest Division III national rankings.
Head Coach
Rachel Viollet stuck with familiar doubles pairings while the host Athenas mixed up their partnerships, and the Beavers powered through with synergy matches with determination. Caltech struck first on Court 3 as junior
Hannah Ramsperger (Zürich / Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich) and sophomore
Naya Kessman (Fayetteville, Ark. / Haas Hall Academy) downed their rivals by a 6-3 score. CMS equalized on Court 2, but with all eyes on the top matchup, sophomores
Polaris Hayes (Robbinsville, N.J. / The Pennington School) and
Carissa Gerung (Portland, Ore. / Jesuit) prevailed by a 6-4 margin to fire up their teammates heading into Singles.
The hard-hitting CMS singles lineup featured five regionally-ranked players, three of whom also sport national rankings, but the Beavers were unfazed and fought to the end. Hayes picked up a first-set win in the fourth position, notching a 6-4 score against regional No. 18 Leah Baroudi. Caltech's own regional No. 11 Gerung led national No. 4 Rebecca Kong in the second set and was battling to a 6-6 tiebreak just before CMS clinched the decisive fourth dual point, leaving her match unfinished per SCIAC postseason rules.
Despite the overall result, it was a remarkable effort by the Beavers hinting at amazing things to come at this fall's ITA Small College Regional Championships as well as the 2027 SCIAC season. Follow the team during the off-season on
Instagram and at GoCaltech.com.
