With the match tied 4-4 and the Warhawks at match point in the third set at five singles, the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens stormed back to defeat UW-Whitewater 5-4 in Claremont, California Tuesday.  The Sagehens, ranked 29th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, improve to 5-10 while the 22nd ranked Warhawks fall to 7-10.

Box Score

UW-W was behind 2-1 after doubles play.  Jake Humphreys (Kenosha/Tremper) (#4) was the first singles player to finish and won to bring the Warhawks even with P-P.  Pomona-Pitzer won at two singles but again the Warhawks fought back to tie the match at three with a win by Ben Shklyar (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield) at one singles.

The Sagehens took another lead, 4-3, with a win at three singles, but the perseverant Warhawks tied it again when Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) won at six singles.

With one match to play, Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North) was the only man left standing for the Warhawks.  After dropping the first set, Bayliss won the second.  Bayliss took a 5-1 lead in the third set and had match point at 5-2 but an amazing backhand save by Kevin Wei sparked a comeback and P-P came back to win.

UW-W has one more match in Claremont on Thursday, March 28 against Middlebury College at 11:30 am (PST).  The Warhawks will then return home for a match against the University of Chicago on April 6 at Wangerin Courts in Whitewater beginning at 10 am.


AZ