CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 22-ranked Southwestern University Pirates women's tennis team lost 9-0 to the No. 2-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas.

Claremont-Mudd-Scrips rearranged its No. 1 and No. 4-ranked doubles pairings, pitting Caroline Cox and Catherine Allen against Esther Bowers and Nina Mitrofanova in the top doubles slot, defeating the Pirates 8-2.

Justine Leong and Crystal Juan, the other halves of those two tandems, defeated Mary Cardone and Emma Kesterson 8-2 in No. 2 doubles while Nicole Tan and Sarah Bahsoun, the No. 9-ranked doubles team in the West Region, defeated Alli Ziehm and Taylor Despriet 8-3 in the third spot.

"We didn't play good doubles overall, except for at No. 2, which unfortunately doesn't reflect in the score," Head Coach Billy Porter said. "Our energy shifted for the best in singles and I was impressed with the level we competed at. We just lost to a better team."

Cardone lost to Leong, the No. 1-ranked player in Division III, by a score of 6-1, 6-2. Bowers was defeated by No. 47-ranked Sydney Lee, losing 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 2 spot, and No. 18-ranked Mitrofanova lost to Devon Wolfe 6-2, 6-3.

Kesterson battled Cox through three sets, dropping the third one with a 10-8 tiebreaker. Nina Elez lost to Bahsoun 6-2, 6-1 and Cecile Wilde was swept by Gabby Lee in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

"Esther and Emma both played tough, competitive matches and I really liked what they brought to the table today," Porter said.

With the loss, the Pirates drop to 3-1 on the season. Southwestern will return to the court tomorrow at noon to face No. 21 California Institute of Technology.  

For more SU Pirate photos, please see Carlos Barron Photography