MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico – The Haverford College men's tennis team recorded its second victory in as many days, posting a 6-3 win against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. The Fords (2-1) and P.R.-Mayaguez were even closer than the final score indicated. The teams saw five of the six singles match go to decisive 10-point tiebreakers. Haverford claimed three of those five hotly-contested matches to help seal the team victory.
The Fords held a 2-1 lead in the doubles portion of the competition. Dais Nakayama and Ishaan Prinz, playing their first match at No. 1 together this spring, allowed just two games to the opposition at the No. 1 doubles slot. Haverford also pulled through with an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles with the pairing of Benjamin Soloway and Caleb Mayer, but fell by that 8-6 margin in the middle pairing.
Singles was hotly contested throughout all six matches. The only straight set win in the singles competition came from Haverford's No. 3, Zack Mason. Mason picked up his first win of the spring with a 6-4, 6-3 win at that spot. Each of the remaining singles matches went into 10-point tiebreak situations.
Haverford came out victorious in the Nos. 1, 2, and 4 singles matches that went to tiebreakers, sweeping each of the top four in the match overall. Luis Acaba dropped a tight 7-6 opening set, but rebounded nicely with a 6-0 win to force the tiebreak. He scored 10 of the 14 contested tiebreak points to lock up the win at No. 1. Dais Nakayama (No. 2) jumped out to an early lead with a 6-2 set one win. He would also suffer a tough 7-6 defeat and be forced to play the 10-point tiebreak. In that tiebreak, Nakayama scored 10 of the 18 contested points for the Haverford win.
Playing at No. 4 singles, Harrison Elbert's singles match was a back-and-forth contest from the opening serve. Each of the first two sets needed an extra game to be played and were ultimately settled with 7-6 finals. After going down a set, Elbert bounced back with a 7-6 (4) win, forcing a tiebreak where he would score 10 of the 15 points for the win.
P.R.-Mayaguez scored 10-point tiebreak wins at No. 5 and No. 6. Ishaan Prinz forced the tiebreak with a 6-1 victory in his second set, but fell 10-5 in the tiebreak. Mayer traded a pair of 6-2 set wins with his opponent before dropping a 10-8 tiebreak in the closest finish of the afternoon.
Men's Tennis will have one more match in Puerto Rico as the Fords have Thursday off from competition before playing Puerto Rico-Rio Piedros on Friday before the team's return flight back to the United States.