They have been through ups and downs, injuries and such, but the teammates bound together over the last two seasons to prove themselves as one of the toughest teams in the country to face. A year ago Ballou and Worley were doubles Quarterfinalists, earning All-America status, and will have to settle for the same this spring after being one of the final four teams playing.

Today began with a tough match against Elliot Kalher and Ian Wagner from Emory. As per the announcers on the live video feed, the men’s Semifinal match between the teams was the most quality match taking place today.

The display of power, speed and quickness exhibited by everyone on the court had each competitor playing out points, which ended in numerous exchanges with all four men at the net showing quick reflexes.

After CLU lead early, Emory pulled even and broke CLU to go up 6-5. Serving, the Eagles looked to have taken set-point, but after a discussion between the Cal Lutheran players and the officials the point went to the Kingsmen for a 40-15 game score. Emory was forced to re-serve and ultimately earned final point of the set to put the Violet and Gold at an early deficit.

In the second set, Ballou and Worley took another early lead at 3-2 and 5-4, but the Eagles did not back down, tying the teams at 5-5 before taking a 6-5 advantage. Again with Emory serving, Worley spiked the volley to give CLU a 15-0 lead in the final game. A shot outside the lines put the Kingsmen up 30-love. A scrappy Emory showing followed by a perfect drop-shot volley from Wagner made it 30-30. Flashing the reflexes again, CLU regained the advantage, but it was Emory in the end after the Eagles tied it and the final CLU shot went just long to end the set, match and season for a pair of phenomenal Cal Lutheran student-athletes.

An excellence battle was won by Emory, who will face the NC Wesleyan duo of Robert Kjellberg and Artsion Prostak later today in the Finals. Kjellberg and Prostak ended the season of Michael Holt and Taylor Shamshiri (Washington & Lee) in the other Semifinal match with a 6-3, 7-6 victory.

To start the tournament, CLU defeated Matthew Heinrich and Chris Rosensteel of the Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J) 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Thursday. Friday the pair eliminated Amrik Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis from Gustavus Adolphus with scores of 6-2, 7-5.

Ballou and Worley have played doubles together during the last three seasons. Overall, they have accumulated an overall doubles record of 54-10 going 3-2, 25-5 and 26-3 in 2011, ‘12 and ‘13, respectively. They are each two-time NCAA Division III All-Americans in doubles action.

Results: Doubles Results
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Bracket
Website: NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships
Schedule: Detailed Schedule of Events
Live Results: Live Results
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

Back at the originally scheduled location of Stowe Stadium, Ballou and Worley fended off a late surge from Amrik Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis from Gustavus Adolphus. The first set was controlled by the Kingsmen who won 6-2. The GAU team made things close in the second set, but again it was the CLU duo that finished on top by a score of 7-5 to win and advance to the Semifinals.

Yesterday Ballou and Donkena met in the opening round of singles play, with Ballou earning a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

To open the tournament in the Round of 16 doubles play, the CLU pair defeated Matthew Heinrich and Chris Rosensteel of the Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J) 7-6 (4), 6-3 to advance to play today.  

Ballou and Worley’s record is now 26-2 this season.

Tomorrow they will play Elliot Kalher and Ian Wagner from Emory. The other Semifinal match will feature Robert Kjellberg and Artsion Prostak from NC Wesleyan against Michael Holt and Taylor Shamshiri from Washington & Lee.

Semifinal and Final matches will both take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 25 beginning at 8:00 a.m. (PST) at Stowe Stadium. The CLU tandem is two wins away from a national title.

Results: Doubles Results
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Singles Bracket
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Bracket
Website: NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships
Schedule: Detailed Schedule of Events
Video: NCAA Video Streaming Site
Live Results: Live Results
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

Dealing with inclement weather, the first day of competition was forced indoors. Competition was relocated from to dual locations of Kalamazoo’s Stowe Stadium and Western Michigan University’s Sorensen Courts to three sites. Cal Lutheran players were at the West Hills Athletic Club.

Though the start times were delayed, Ballou came out and quickly took down Amrik Donkena of Gustavus Adolphus by 6-1, 6-0 margins to advance to the Round of 16. Unfortunately, his quest for a national title ended at the hands of Amherst’s Mark Kahan when his 27-match win-streak was broken with a 6-4, 6-0 loss to eliminate the Cal Lutheran Co-Athlete of the Year. Ballou finishes his senior season with a 27-1 singles record.

In other singles action, Worley fell behind early, dropping the first set 4-6, but battled back to a 6-3 second set to pull even with Kevin Caulfield from Haverford. It was Caulfield who got the upper hand in the third set, winning 6-3 to end Worley’s 2013 singles season with a 21-5 overall record, concluding his collegiate individual career.

Forced to put the losses in the rearview mirror, Ballou and Worley were able to refocus for doubles play. The No. 1 ranked Kingsmen played a close match with Matthew Heinrich and Chris Rosensteel of the Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J), coming up with a 7-6, 6-3 victory to advance to the Quarterfinals on Friday afternoon.

The CLU pair improves to 25-2 in 2013 and with the victory become Men’s Tennis Doubles All-Americans for the second consecutive year. Ballou and Worley will meet Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis tomorrow for the Quarterfinals after the Gustavus Adolphus team defeated Tanner Brown and Erik Lim of Johns Hopkins by scored of 6-2, 6-3.  

Play has been pushed back an hour from the originally scheduled time to 2:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, May 24. Semifinal and Final matches will both take place on Saturday, May 25.

Results: Singles Results
Results: Doubles Results
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Singles Bracket
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Bracket
Website: NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships
Schedule: Detailed Schedule of Events
Video: NCAA Video Streaming Site
Live Results: Live Results
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

Two weeks ago the field was set for the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Individual and Doubles Championships to be played at the conclusion of the team competition, from May 23-25, at Kalamazoo’s Stowe Stadium and Western Michigan University’s Sorensen Courts and today the brackets were released.   

In the Round of 32 Ballou opens against Amrik Donkena from Gustavus Adolphus. Worley is set to face off with Kevin Caulfield from Haverford in his first match. Neither Kingsmen player has competed against his scheduled opponent this year. First serve of both matches is set for Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 a.m. (PST). The winning players advance to the Round of 16 scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (PST) at Stowe.

The afternoon will feature the No. 1 duo serving up to Matthew Heinrich and Chris Rosensteel, a freshman, senior team from Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J). Play will get under way at 1:00 p.m. (PST) in the doubles Round of 16. Ballou and Worley are 24-2 this season and Heinrich and Rosensteel are 21-3.

Competition continues on Friday, May 24 with the singles and doubles Quarterfinals and the individual Semifinals. Play gets underway at 6:00 a.m. (PST) with Quarterfinals singles action followed by Semifinals at 11:00 a.m. (PST). Doubles Quarterfinals will take place at 1:00 p.m. (PST).

Championship matches for singles are scheduled for Saturday, May 25 at 6:00 a.m. (PST) with award presentations immediately after a decision is made.

Doubles Semifinal and Finals will take place on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. (PST) and 10:00 a.m. (PST), respectively with a doubles championship team crowned in an awards presentation immediately following to conclusion of play.

Ballou and Worley have an opportunity to repeat as All-Americans after advancing to the Quarterfinals a year ago. The pair would become the second NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Champions if they can maintain their No. 1 seed throughout the week and win the title joining Mark Ellis and Jenia Karminov who won in 1997.

In singles play, Ballou has the chance to become the second NCAA Division III Singles champion in school history, following Ellis, the 1996 champion.

Kalamazoo last hosted an NCAA Division III National Championship tournament in 2005 for the women and in 2000 for the men. Overall, KC has hosted 12 national championships (women-7, men-5).

Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Singles Bracket
Bracket: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Bracket
Website: NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships
Schedule: Detailed Schedule of Events
Video: NCAA Video Streaming Site
Live Results: Live Results
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

In 2003, Elaine Benditson inspired the concept and the Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society was created to acknowledge the academic achievements of CLU athletes. The institution believes it is important to give special emphasis to those students who are competing rigorously to achieve excellence in the classroom and in their chosen sport. The Kingsmen and Regals honored during the ceremony have each proven to bring equal dedication and discipline to both the classroom and chosen fields of play.

Boasting a 3.40 or higher cumulative grade point average during the academic year, the 2013 induction class was the largest in the 10-year history of the society. The inaugural class had 36 inductees.

Of the student-athletes who participated in 2012-13, 62% (307 of 493) earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher. Nearly 30% (144) produced a 3.5 or higher GPA. The total GPA for all CLU sports teams this year was 3.147. Offering 20 intercollegiate sports, 16 of those teams produced higher team GPAs in 2012-13 than in 2011-12. Additionally, during the fall semester 12 athletes earned a perfect 4.0.

Following the presentation of gifts to those inducted, a pair of distinguished student-athletes was recognized. Senior golfer and bioengineering major Chad Kimmelshue and senior swimmer and liberal studies major Cortney Jordan were selected by the CLU Faculty Athletic Policies Committee as the Male and Female SCIAC Scholar Athlete, respectively.

While Kimmelshue was in Florida competing at the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships, Jordan, a two-time Paralympian and S7 American Record Holder in 17 events, took to the podium.

Going on to be an ambassador and speaker for the Paralympics, Jordan stepped up to the microphone where she engulfed the audience with a sincere and strong message. She spoke to four phenomenal points:

1. The gift of being in the moment.
2. Passion for what you are doing.
3. Focusing on teammates and how others will remember you and how you can make others feel good.
4. Never-Ever giving up!

During her speech she also touched on the notion of cherishing differences, respecting others, assuming responsibility and having no regrets.  

Cal Lutheran attracts students from all walks of life and areas of the world. Its diversity is unique and the passion that each and every student possesses is special. For many, one of those passions is sport, in turn producing amazing student-athletes for the Kingsmen and Regals year in and year out.

Scholar Athlete Society: 2013 Induction Class
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

Ballou, the nation’s No. 1 singles player, went 8-0 in the SCIAC during the regular season and won all three of his conference tournament matches. The undefeated record marked the second consecutive season Ballou went through conference play unscathed and ended his career a perfect 17-0 against SCIAC opponents. As doubles player, Ballou went 7-1 against conference foes as he and Worley ascended to the top of the West Region rankings.

Worley, who had been named to the second team the past two seasons, made the jump to first team after a 10-0 conference season.  Worley played the first two conference matches as the No. 1 before shifting over to the No. 2 spot and ripping off eight straight wins. Worley was ranked in the top seven of the West Region singles player ratings before heading into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 player. Partnering with Ballou, the SCIAC runners-up went 7-1 during SCIAC play.

In his first year as a Kingsmen, Nichols made an immediate impact playing primarily as the No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles player, combining with Connor Treacy. Nichols ended the conference season with a 5-4 record. For his efforts, Nichols ended the regular season as the No. 21 ranked player in the West Region. As a doubles player, Nichols went 5-2 and earned a No. 13 ranking. During the SCIAC Tournament Championship match, Nichols and Treacy avenged an earlier season loss, upsetting the No. 11 ranked duo of Skyler Butts and Neal Kotrappa from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-3.

As a team Cal Lutheran went 8-2 in the SCIAC and finished second for the consecutive season. CLU’s eight conference tied a school record for a single season and was the most since the 2003 season.

Sophomore Joe Dorn of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps earned the Newcomer of the Year honor and Caltech earned the team sportsmanship award. 

Release: 2013 Men’s Tennis All-SCIAC Teams
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

The hope of the Violet and Gold today was to get out to an early lead on the host squad, but it was the Maroon and Gold who went up 2-1 after the doubles portion of the matches and swept the first three singles to seal the victory and punch a ticket to Michigan.

Only the No. 1 ranked team of Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley were able to earn a point with an 8-5 Win over Warren Wood and Joe Dorn at number one doubles. The CLU duo avenged an 8-5 loss to the CMS pair from a week ago at the SCIAC Championships.

The number three CLU doubles team of Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa gave Nickolas Marino and Alex Lane a run, though the Stags pair finished on top 8-5 for the second time in a week. At SCIAC Championships Marino and Lane earned a 9-8 win over Millet and Sousa.

Also turning in a tough battle were Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy who fell to Skyler Butts and Neel Kotrappa by an 8-4 margin. Last week Nichols and Treacy had the upper hand, winning 8-3.

CMS used quick finishes at No. 3, 5 and 4 singles from Marino (6-0, 6-0), Butts (6-2, 6-2) and Lane (6-3, 6-1), respectively, to steal the victory.

Worley was responsible for the only singles set win of the afternoon, defeating Dorn 6-2 to start their number two dual match. Dorn was leading 4-3 when play was halted.

At number one singles, Wood edged Ballou 6-3 in the first set, but the CLU senior national leader was up 4-3 in the second set when the team decision was made.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (28-3) will advance to the Quarterfinals on May 20 against Middlebury.

Cal Lutheran (19-5) finishes the spring of 2013 tied for the most wins in school history, matching the 19 wins that the Kingsmen recorded in 2010 as they went 19-3.

Both Ballou and Worley have earned bids to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Individual Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. from May 23-25. They will each play as individuals as well as teaming up for doubles play.

Box Score: CMS 5, CLU 1
Bracket: Official 2013 Playoff Bracket
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

Meeting for the second time in 2013, CLU came out with something to prove today after falling on the road to UCSC earlier this spring. With that loss, the Kingsmen dropped to the No. 3 spot in the regional ranking with the Slugs taking over the No. 2 spot behind No. 1 West Region and National leader and weekend host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Tomorrow CLU and CMS will grind it out for the opportunity to travel to Michigan for the Semifinals, Quarterfinals and Finals of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.  

Though they came out to the courts fired up, the day started slowly for the Kingsmen who trailed 2-1 after doubles action. But, as they had been working on in practice during recent days, the singles players made the difference with four wins to steal the match after falling behind early. Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley were each good for two wins with Devon Belcher and Alex Nichols earning a victory apiece as the teams played to decision not completion.

On the number one doubles court Ballouand Worleyopened a 6-0 lead on Erik Rosner and Erich Koenig en route to an 8-1 victory and the first CLU point of the day.

Chris Goets and Andre Halabi controlled the pace of play at number two doubles, defeating Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy 8-2.

On the number three court Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa battled, tied 1-1 early before falling behind 5-2. The Violet and Gold duo chipped back into it at 6-4, but the UCSC pair of Bryce Bettwy and Max Littlejohn took the final two points of the match.

Moving to singles play, Cal Lutheran won the first set of each match to steal the momentum. CLU was able to fight through the heat as the temperature increased making it nearly 100-degrees on the courts.

Devon Belcher came out with fresh legs and used the rest to his advantage by quickly winning on court number six. He took down Goetz 6-3, 6-2 in what was arguably his best match of the season.

At number two, Worley, the last player to take his first set, played solid, smart tennis to defeat Halabi 6-2, 6-2, avenging a loss when the two met on April 14.

After Ballou cruised to a 6-3 first set, Koenig used a lot of weapons to make things difficult for the top-ranked player in the region. Seemingly swapping points, it was the Cal Lutheran senior who won the tie-breaker (7-4) to take the second set 7-6 for the win.

With his teammates watching along the fence, Nichols finished off Bettwy in the second set, winning 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the match and send CLU to play on Sunday.

When play was terminated both Treacy and Millet were in progress. Treacy was tied with Sam Rodgers 5-5 in the second set after the CLU sophomore took the first 6-2. Millet took the first set 6-1 and dropped the second 6-2. He was behind 4-2 when play ceased.

Meeting a familiar foe tomorrow will not be an easy task for the Kingsmen.

“They have shown their strengths throughout the season and we need to come out firing in doubles to have a chance to win,” Ballou said in a post-match interview. “Hopefully we can click together early and come out on top tomorrow.”

Cal Lutheran (18-4) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (27-3) will play tomorrow, May 12 at noon in the Third Round. CLU has lost twice to CMS this spring by margins of 6-3 both times.

The Sunday winner will advance to play in the Quarterfinals at Stowe Stadium. Kalamazoo College will host the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals from May 20-22 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Box Score: CLU 5, UCSC 2
Live Video: Watch Live on Sunday
Bracket: Official 2013 Playoff Bracket
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

The duo also qualified as a team for the doubles portion of the tournament.

In a field of 32 competitors, Ballou enters the NCAA tournament as the West Region’s No. 1 overall singles seed. The Orinda, Calif. native is a perfect 25-0 on the season including an 8-0 record in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Playing one of the tougher regular season schedules in the country, Ballou owns wins over every other singles player ranked in the top five of the West Region. In a remarkable statistic, of all of Ballou’s wins, the senior has only been forced to a decisive third set just twice this season with both coming against Warren Wood of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Joining Ballou is Worley, the No. 11 ranked singles player in the West Region. The senior from San Mateo, Calif. is 20-4 this season while primarily playing as CLU’s No. 2. The 2012 All-American has defeated five opponents ranked in the top twenty of their respective regions including two wins over No. 8 Joe Dorn of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Worley is currently the second winningest singles player in Cal Lutheran history, boasting a career record of 71-24.

When the tournament shifts to doubles, Ballou will pair with Worley to make run at a national championship after being eliminated in the quarterfinals a year ago. Together, Ballou and Worley have earned the No. 1 ranking in the West Region and a 22-2 record. Earlier this season, the tandem ripped off a 16-match win streak en route to capturing the Ojai Valley Tournament championship.  Over the last three years, Ballou and Worley have been one of the most prolific doubles pairing, compiling a record of 50-9.

The SCIAC will be well represented again at the NCAA tournament this year with four singles players qualifying. Besides Ballou and Worley, Wood of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Patrick Lipscomb of Redlands will also compete for the national title.

Joining Ballou and Worley in the doubles competition will be the Stags’ Wood and Dorn as well as Pomona-Pitzer’s duo of Frankie Allinson and Max Sabel.

No. 5 Cal Lutheran also earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a team. Competition in the West Regionals will begins Saturday, May 11, at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Kingsmen will face No. 12 UC Santa Cruz at 10:00 a.m. Both live stats and video streaming will be available throughout regional.

Release: 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Tournament Qualifiers
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

Thirty conferences were awarded an automatic qualification (AQ) for the championships and are considered Pool A. The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) automatic bid went to No. 1 and regional host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps as the 2013 league champions.

Pool B is made up of independent schools and schools that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for an AQ. This year seven schools were selected from Pool B. The final seven berths were reserved for Pool C, which are schools from AQ conferences that were not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams.

Cal Lutheran earned a Pool C bid for the second consecutive year and is joined by SCIAC foe No. 13 Redlands. With three league teams advancing, the level of competition that the Kingsmen face throughout the season is apparent. Last weekend at SCIAC Championships, Cal Lutheran fell to CMS to place second. Redlands fell to Pomona-Pitzer, but the combination of dual match points and championship points placed the Bulldogs third overall.

Emory is the defending national champion and the Eagles earned a Pool C bid in 2013. No. 1 CMS is followed by No. 2 Kenyon and No. 3 Amherst (Mass.).

This will be the 11^th NCAA appearance by the Kingsmen since joining the NCAA in 1992. CLU returns a solid core of players who got a taste of Regional play a year ago. In 2012 after the team was eliminated, Nicholas Ballou went on to became a two-time All-American as the national runner-up in singles play and joined forces with Ray Worley to advance to the quarterfinals. Connor Treacy, Thomas Millet, Nick Jacobs and Marcelo Sousa all saw NCAA Regional action last spring as well.

Ballou enters the weekend as the No. 1 ranked player in the region. Worley is No. 11 and Nichols is No. 21. In doubles, Ballou and Worley are atop the rankings at No. 1 and the duo of Treacy and Nichols broke into the top-15 at No. 13 in the May 2 Poll.

Unlike 2012, Cal Lutheran (17-4) has earned a First Round bye at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The Bracket indicates that the Kingsmen will face UC Santa Cruz (11-5) in their first match of the tournament during the Second Round on Saturday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m. The Banana Slugs upset the Kingsmen, 5-4, in Santa Cruz on April 14 as the final dual match of the regular season. The winner will advance to the Third Round, set for Sunday, May 12 at noon.

The final team standing after Saturday will move on to play in the Quarterfinals at Stowe Stadium. Kalamazoo College will host the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals from May 20-22. Individual Championships will follow May 23-25 and the field for that competition will be released on May 8.

Release: 2013 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships
Bracket: Official 2013 Playoff Bracket
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

After going undefeated during conference season, Cal Lutheran’s No. 1 doubles group of Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley was upset by Warren Wood and Joe Dorn 8-5. CLU’s No. 2 doubles group of Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy got the first point of the day and avenged an earlier season loss to Neel Kotrappa and Skyler Butts, defeating the pair 8-3. Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa nearly gave the Kingsmen a 2-1 lead headed into singles play falling 9-8 (3) to Nikolas Marino and Alex Lane.

Ballou completed his undefeated SCIAC season with a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Wood. With the win, Ballou improved to 23-0 and is now 16-0 for his career against SCIAC opponents. Worley earned his 19th win of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Dorn.

Unfortunately from there it was all Claremont-Mudd-Scripps as the Stags claimed their eighth straight SCIAC championship. Marino defeated Nichols 6-3, 6-3 while Lane snuck by Treacy 6-4, 6-4. Millet took the first set from Butts 6-2 but couldn’t keep the moment going, falling 6-4, 6-2 in the final two sets. Devon Belcher competed strongly all tournament for the Kingsmen but Alex Johnson earned the final point for the Stags, defeating Belcher 6-4, 6-1 and sealing the championship.

Cal Lutheran (18-4, 8-2 SCIAC) finishes second in the conference for the second straight year. The Kingsmen now await their selection to the NCAA Division III regionals which will be announced early next week.

Results: CMS 6 CLU 3 (SCIAC Finals)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

The Kingsmen made quick work of their seventh seeded opponents in Chapman to start the day. Cal Lutheran opened the match by taking all three doubles matches. Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley defeated Troy Akin and Brett Buford while Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy took down Kyle Coates and Chris Williams 8-3. Cal Lutheran picked up its third point with Marcelo Sousa and Thomas Millet combining to defeat Zach Resnick and Nick Mulfur 8-2.

The success carried over into the singles portion of the match with Ballou and Worley easily defeating their opponents and securing the win. Ballou deated Akin 6-0, 6-3 and Worley gave CLU the clinching fifth point with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Coates. As those matches ended, Cal Lutheran was leading in the four other matches.

In the semifinal against the nationally ranked Bulldogs, Cal Lutheran ripped off three straight doubles wins for three crucial points. Ballou and Worley are a win away from winning their second straight doubles championship after defeating Patrick Lipscomb and Gram Leahy 8-3. The No. 3 doubles pairing of Sousa and Millet captured their second win of the day with an 8-5 victory over Teddy Jones and Max Licona. Treacy and Nichols followed that with a big 9-8 (7-3) victory over Connor Hyde and Nick Cummings to give CLU the momentum headed into singles.

Worley got the first win of the singles portion of the match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hyde and then Ballou got the clinching fifth point with a 6-1, 7-5 win against Lipscomb. Treacy later scored a win over Taylor Hunt 6-4, 6-4 while Millet rounded out CLU’s winners for the match with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) victory over John Brewer.

Awaiting the Kingsmen in the championships is either Pomona-Pitzer, who CLU beat 5-4 earlier this season, or seven-time defending champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

The final at Whittier College is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Round 1: CLU 5 CU 0
Semifinals: CLU 7 UR 2
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

The 2013 Kingsmen tennis team went 16-3 overall and 6-1 in the SCIAC. Of the 16 wins, 10 of the came against ranked opponents including an upset of No. 3 Williams College on March 20. Competing in the always tough SCIAC, Cal Lutheran scored victories over all but No. 1 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Leading the way is Division III’s No. 1 ranked singles player in Nicholas Ballou. The 2012 NCAA National runner-up went 20-0 this season including wins over three of the top five ranked singles players. Ballou is also coming off a singles title at the Ojai Tennis Tournament, the second year in a row he had won it.

Competing in the No. 2 singles spot is CLU’s all-time wins leader in Ray Worley. The No. 6 ranked singles player in the west region is 16-3 this season including a perfect 6-0 mark in SCIAC play.

First-year transfer Alex Nichols will fill the No. 3 slot for the Kingsmen. The junior from Bakersfield, Calif. is 14-5 this season while being No. 22 in the west region.

Connor Treacy, the lone underclassmen on the starting six for CLU, will play in the No. 4 spot during the tournament. The sophomore from Venice, Calif. is 8-5 on the year and recently advanced to the round of the 32 at the Ojai Tennis Tournament.

Senior Thomas Millet will compete as the No. 5 while transfer Devon Belcher will play as the No. 6 to round out the CLU singles lineup.

During the doubles portion of the tournament, Ballou and Worley will look to defend their 2012 championship. The No. 1 ranked duo is 18-1 this year and fresh off a win in the finals of the Ojai Tennis Tournament.

Nichols and Treacy will team up to form the No. 2 doubles pairing for the Kingsmen. Playing together for the first time this season, Nichols and Treacy combined to go 8-4.

Finally, Millet and Marcelo Sousa, CLU’s No. 3 doubles team, will look to build off a first round win at last year’s championship. This season the two went 11-6 overall with a 3-2 SCIAC record.

If Cal Lutheran wants to claim its first conference title in school history, it will have to uproot the top ranked Stags. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps has won the last seven conference championships and boasts a 23-3 record this season. Also ranked are No. 12 Redlands and No. 22 Pomona-Pitzer while Whittier spent part of the season in the top 25.

The second seeded Kingsmen begin their quest for the SCIAC title against the seventh seeded Chapman Panthers at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Should it win, Cal Lutheran will advance to the semi-finals at 2:00 p.m. The final is slated for Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Championship Central: 2013 SCIAC Championships
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

The No. 1 seeded Ballou completed his 5-0 march through the tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Alex Lane of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Also the No. 1 rated singles player in Division III, Ballou improved his season record to 20-0. The senior from Orinda, Calif. will now look to defend his 2012 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) singles title with the championships beginning next weekend.

It was a quick turnaround for Ballou as his doubles semifinal pairing against Gram Leahy and Patrick Lipscomb of Redlands was just an hour after his singles final. Unfazed, Ballou and Worley turned back the Redlands duo 8-2 to set up a finals showdown with second ranked Warren Wood and Joe Dorn of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. After defeating Wood and Dorn 8-4 back on April 5, Ballou and Worley took the rematch in similar fashion, winning 6-2, 6-0 and giving the two seniors their first Ojai Tournament doubles championship together.

Also the defending SCIAC doubles champions, Ballou and Worley will look to repeat when the tournament starts on Friday, May 3. The tournament will be held at multiple sites but will be hosted by Whittier College.

Results: Ojai Day Three
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

Ballou started the day off in the round of 16, fighting off Nicolas Cummins of Redlands in the first set and then cruising in the second to earn a 6-4, 6-1 victory. He finished his day off with a 6-2, 6-1 drubbing of Neel Kotrappa from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and earned a berth into Sunday’s semifinals. Ballou will take on 12^th seeded Nikolas Marino of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 8:00 a.m. and the singles final is set for 11:00 a.m.

Worley, who was the fourth seeded singles player, was upset by Skyler Butts of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the round of 16 by a score of 6-2, 6-4.

Despite the loss, Worley rallied with Ballou to earn two doubles matches victories Saturday and advanced to Sunday’s semifinal. In the round of 16, the pair defeated Frankie Allinson and Max Sabel of Pomona-Pitzer in a nail-biting 9-7 match.

After surviving in the quarterfinals, Ballou and Worley breezed through their semifinal match with Gram Leahy and Patrick Lipscomb of Redlands, defeating the fellow SCIAC foes 8-2. The win also sets up a Sunday final against second seeded Joe Dorn and Warren Wood of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Ballou and Worley bested Dorn and Wood 8-4 earlier this season. The match is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.

Results: Ojai Day 2
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

Cal Lutheran got five first round victories with Alex Nichols starting things off with a win over Chris Schommer of Whittier 7-5, 6-2. Connor Treacy kept things going with a 7-6 (1-0), 6-2 defeat of Connor Hyde from Redlands. Thomas Millet got a 6-2, 7-6 (2-0) win against Troy Zuroske of Pacific and Devon Belcher won against Kevin Wei of Pomona-Pitzer 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to finish out the first round victories for CLU.

No. 1 overall seed Nicholas Ballou and No. 4 seed Ray Worley both earned victories in round two after earning byes during the first round. Ballou advanced to the Saturday’s third round after soundly beating Erik Rosner of UC Santa Cruz 6-4 and 6-3. Worley also advanced to the third round when he defeated John Brewer of Redlands 6-3, 6-2.

Unfortunately for CLU, no other player could escape out of the second round with Nichols, Treacy, and Millet all falling in straight sets and Belcher had to retire due to an injury.

CLU’s No. 2 doubles group of Nichols and Treacy advanced to the second round after defeating Teddy Jones and Max Licona 8-6 however, the No. 3 pairing of Millet and Marcelo Sousa fell to David Konstantinov and Julian Senevirante of Whittier 8-5.

 The No. 1 doubles duo of Ballou and Worley improved their season record to 15-1 and moving to the third round after defeating Brewer and Anish Nanda 8-2.

Both Ballou and Worley’s quarterfinals matches start at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, and their doubles match begins at 3:00 p.m.

Results: Ojai Tournament Day 1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports

Cal Lutheran took an early 2-1 lead with both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams earning victories, but in singles action it was the Banana Slugs who prevailed, winning four singles matches, while CLU nabbed just a pair.

Nicholas Ballou turned in a pair of points with a 6-0, 6-4 victory at number one singles, defeating Erich Koenig after he and doubles partner Ray Worley took down Koenig and George Goetz by an 8-4 margin to start the afternoon.

On the number two doubles court Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy teamed up for an 8-6 win, giving the Kingsmen an early match lead.

The final CLU point of the day came from the number five singles position where Thomas Millet beat Eli Scandalis 6-1, 6-0.

Cal Lutheran nearly swept doubles, but a tough battle at number three ended with a 9-7 match going to Sam Rodgers and Andre Halabi over Millet and Marcelo Sousa.

Cal Lutheran (16-3) will send players to the Ojai Tournament next weekend, April 25-28 to compete as both individuals and doubles teams. Match times will vary.  

Box Score: UCSC 5, CLU 4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

The Kingsmen will go into the SCIAC Championships as the No. 2 seed with a 6-1 record behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who was their only league loss of the season.

Playing at Scholl Canyon today the doubles teams got CLU out to a quick 3-0 lead. Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa earned a convincing 8-2 victory over Avery Howard and David Cotton at No. 3 doubles.  

On the number one and two doubles courts, the Kingsmen earned 8-6 and 8-5 victories respectively. Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley defeated Jordan Brown and Josh Dancu as the first team with Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy joining forces for a win over Kevin Zhao and Stephen Perkins in the No. 2 spot.

In a singles sweep, Both No. 4 Treacy and No. 5 Millet cruised to 6-0, 6-2 wins. Devon Belcher also locked up an easy win at No. 6, defeating Jesse Kreger 6-2, 6-2.

Ballou won 6-1, 6-2 in the top spot for the second consecutive match while Worley took a 6-4, 6-4 match against Perkins.

Rounding out the event today was Nichols who played the toughest match of the afternoon. He battled to a 7-6 (7-0) win in the first set before taking the second 6-3.

Cal Lutheran (16-2, 6-1 SCIAC) will travel to Northern California to face the No. 10 UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. for their final regular season dual match of the spring. UCSC is also ranked No. 4 in the region.

Box Score: CLU 9, OXY 0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

There are 178,441 DIII student-athletes as compared to 459,253 in Division I and II combined from coast to coast. Division III, however, represents the largest division in the NCAA at 40 percent of the total membership.

The NCAA sponsors 28 Championship events with 14 for men and 14 for women. There are also eight National Collegiate Championships. Overall, CLU sponsors 20 intercollegiate athletic programs, which is above the average (17) of like institutions.

Cal Lutheran is one of the 80 percent of active institutions that are private with 20 percent of DIII schools on public campuses. Across the board the average enrollment of Division III schools is 2,734.

All of the schools that fall in the Division III category are expected to promote the model of discover, develop and dedicate. CLU is right on track with that mantra by succeeding academically and athletically while giving back to the community.

In 2013 there will be CLU 147 student-athletes inducted into the Scholar Athlete Society by holding a 3.40 or higher cumulative grade point average. This number is higher than it has ever been and numerous student-athletes throughout the season have earned both Academic All-SCIAC and other sport specific academic accolades.

CLU teams have been just as successful on the field, court, course and in the pool with 10 teams earning national rankings in 2012-13. Both men’s golf and women’s water polo have held No. 1 rankings in their respective polls this year. CLU teams have claimed four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) titles thus far with four teams and one athlete advancing to NCAA Championship play. The spring sports have much hope to increase those numbers with more than half of the teams in the hunt for a league title.

Beyond those two areas, CLU students have also taken time to give back. One example is the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) that is headed in 2012-13 by Lauren Rasmussen. She and the other SAAC members have put together a community service project in conjunction with DIII Week.

The group is scheduled to do a Ball and Old Sports Equipment Drive throughout the week of April 8-12. Items will be collected both at the Welcome Desk of the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center during all hours of operation and in the Athletics Offices during operating business hours (9-5). Additionally, SAAC members will be stationed at the flagpole on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to collect items. All donations will be delivered to the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Conejo Valley.

“The biggest thing with this event is that it is something that the SAAC wants to turn into an annual event during DIII Week and we are really excited about it,” Rasmussen said. “The connection to athletics with equipment collection, plus the opportunity to give back to the community by donating items that student-athletes are involved with competitively every day is very rewarding.”

Student Life will be sponsoring a series of student giveaways at a variety of athletic events during Division III Week as well.

Cal Lutheran sunglasses will be given out at Men’s Tennis against No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at the Poulson Tennis Center to kick off the weekend. On Wednesday, April 10 the water polo team will host Caltech and rally towels will be handed out at the entrance to the Samuelson Aquatics Center. Women’s Tennis fans will have a chance to claim sunglasses on Friday, April 12 when the Regals host Occidental at 2:00 p.m. At Hutton Field softball will host Redlands where seat cushions will be available for student fans at 2:00 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. in Ullman Stadium baseball fans can obtain a stadium cup as the Kingsmen host Whittier. Additionally, free Shave It coupons will be distributed to the first 250 students at any of the games.

Finally, the dining commons will be offering sports themed meals and snacks throughout the week, including a nacho bar, Dodger Dogs, peanuts and popcorn, BBQ Tri-Tip sandwiches and soft pretzels with cheese sauce.

“Excitement is beginning to be generated around Division III week on campus,” Director of Athletics Dan Kuntz shared. “We are looking forward to being a part of this unique campaign to promote Division III and the student-athletes we support year in and year out.”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports

For the second straight day, Cal Lutheran’s No. 1 doubles duo of Nicholas Ballou and Ray Worley cruised to an 8-5 victory over Julian Seneviratne and David Konstantinov. The top rated duo in the west region improved their season record to 14-1. CLU’s No. 2 doubles pairing of Alex Nichols and Connor Treacy fell for just the third time this year when they were defeated 8-6 by Chris Schommer and Andrew Hansen.

It looked as though Whittier would come out of the doubles portion of the match leading 2-1 but Cal Lutheran’s No. 3 doubles tandem of Thomas Millet and Marcelo Sousa rallied from a 6-3 deficit to win 9-8 (6).

Despite leading 2-1 headed into the singles matches, it never felt as though Cal Lutheran had control of the match. Ballou maintained his perfect singles record, defeating Seneviratne 6-1, 6-2 and improving his season record to 15-0.

A day after upsetting the No. 5 ranked singles player in the west region, Worley took care of business again, defeating Konstantinov 6-1 in the first set before the Poet retired trailing 3-0 in the second.

Trailing 4-1, the Poets mounted a furious comeback with Matthew Herron and Samuel Farmer winning both their matches within minutes of each other. Herron defeated Treacy in the No. 4 singles match 6-4, 6-0 and Farmer defeated Millet 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 4 singles contest to bring Whittier to within one at 4-3.

With Nichols trailing in the No. 3 singles, Devon Belcher stepped up and sealed the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win for the Kingsmen with a tension filled 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Shogo Shimizu.

Cal Lutheran (15-2, 5-1 SCIAC) rounds out its SCIAC schedule when it faces Occidental Friday, April 12, in Eagle Rock, Calif. The match is set to get underway at 2:00 p.m. 

Results: CLU 5 WC 4
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clusports