COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. — For the second time in three seasons, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is the ITA Division III Women’s Team Indoor Champion, as the No. 5 seeded Athenas pieced together a remarkable run at the Farm & Forge Club in College Grove.
The Athenas beat three of the top-four seeds in the tournament, taking down top-seeded WashU in the semifinals and No. 2 UChicago in Sunday’s final. It was a complete team effort for head coach David Schwarz’s squad, who battled through a pair of 4-3 victories to reach the final.
CMS erased a 1-0 deficit in the final after dropping the doubles point to No. 2 UChicago before rallying to win the next four singles matches. That was the theme of the weekend for the Athenas, as they lost the doubles point in each of their three matches. Senior Lindsay Eisenman, the reigning national singles champion, delivered the clinching point in the title match. Trailing UChicago’s Sarena Biria, 2-0, in the third set, Eisenman stormed back to win the next three games, a major momentum shift in an eventual 6-4 victory.
Runner-up UChicago is no stranger to an Indoors finals appearance, as a win on Sunday would have marked its fourth title in the past five seasons. The Maroons couldn’t build on their momentum in doubles play in the early moments of the championship, as they dropped four first sets in singles. Like CMS, the Maroons were tested all weekend, surviving a first-round scare against No. 7 Wesleyan in a 4-3 win in which they trailed 3-1 before slipping by No. 6 Middlebury in the semis, 4-3.
Top-seeded WashU’s bid for its first Indoor championship title fell short, as the Bears were upset in the semifinals to CMS, 4-3.
Results
First Round — Friday, February 27
No. 2 UChicago def. No. 7 Wesleyan 4-3
No. 1 WashU def. No. 8 Sewanee 7-0
No. 6 Middlebury def. No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer 7-0
No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps def. No. 4 Emory 4-3
Semifinals/Consolations — Saturday, February 28
No. 2 UChicago def. No. 6 Middlebury 4-3
No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps def. No. 1 WashU 4-3
No. 4 Emory def. No. 8 Sewanee 7-0
No. 7 Wesleyan def. No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer 4-1
Championship/Consolations — Sunday, March 1
Final – No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps def. No. 2 UChicago 4-1
3rd Place – No. 1 WashU def. No. 6 Middlebury 4-1
5th Place – No. 7 Wesleyan def. No. 4 Emory 4-3
7th Place – No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer def. No. 8 Sewanee 4-1
Past Division III Women’s Indoor Champions
2026 – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2025 – Chicago
2024 – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2023 – Chicago
2022 – Chicago
2020 – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2019 – Emory
2018 – Emory
2017 – Emory
2016 – Pomona Pitzer
2015 – Johns Hopkins
2014 – Johns Hopkins
2013 – Johns Hopkins
2012 – Washington & Lee
2011 – Emory
2010 – Emory
2009 – Carnegie Mellon
