Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's tennis team is set to compete at this weekend's Centennial Conference Tournament. The Fords (13-3, 7-2 CC) enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will battle second-seeded Johns Hopkins (14-5, 8-1 CC) in their semifinal match on Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Fords have now made the conference playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons. They have been to at least the semifinal round during each of those postseason journeys. Haverford would advance to the conference championship with a win over the Blue Jays. The Fords have played for the conference title three times. Their most recent championship appearance came during the 2013 season.
Haverford's 13 victories as a team this spring are tied for the most in a season since 2007. With a win in the conference semifinals, the Fords will have their most wins in a year since Albert Dillon's 1994 team who went 14-6.
The Fords have four players on their team with at least 10 victories in singles. Josh Moskovitz and Zack Mason are currently tied for the team lead with 11 wins in singles this season. Harrison Elbert and Ishaan Prinz are not far back as they both have 10 wins on the year. Also playing among the top six are Luis Acaba and Dais Nakayama. Acaba is 6-3 at No. 1 singles action, while Nakayama has won five matches between the Nos. 1 through 3 positions in the lineup.
In doubles competition, co-captains Acaba and Elbert are 9-4 at No. 1 doubles this season. That record includes a 4-2 mark against Centennial Conference doubles teams for the returning All-Centennial Conference performers. Nakayama and Moskovitz currently have seven wins together in doubles, five of which have come in conference matches. Eli Phelps and Prinz have played the most matches as the Fords' No. 3 pairing and have four wins together this spring.
Saturday's semifinal will be played at Swarthmore after the Garnet won the regular season title with an unblemished conference record. In Haverford's regular season meeting with the Blue Jays down in Baltimore, the Fords got their lone win from Moskovitz during a straight set victory at No. 2 singles.
Top-seeded Swarthmore and fourth-seeded Franklin & Marshall will battle in the other semifinal that is set for 3 p.m. Saturday. The two winners will meet in the championship match on Sunday at 2 p.m.