FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Haverford College men's tennis team traveled to the ITA Southeast Regional for its first competition of the 2017-18 academic year. After day one of the tournament, the Fords have two players in the semifinals of the B2 Singles draw with several other players who advanced in the championship bracket before falling in the afternoon session.
Sophomores Rob Kresch and David Kong well represent Haverford in the B2 singles draw tomorrow morning. Kresch made quick work of his opponent from Christopher Newport in the opening round. He capped his day with a second set tiebreak against Mason Groff from Ursinus. He will face another Centennial Conference competitor, Luke Weaver of Washington College, tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. in the semifinals.
Kong needed a tiebreak to win his first set in the opening round before cruising in the second. He followed that up with a three-set win against Ryan Berry from host Mary Washington. He will meet Kelson Weber tomorrow at 11 a.m. and faces a potential championship showdown with Kresch if both Fords win on Sunday morning.
In championship singles, Ishaan Prinz came away with a three-set win during the Round of 64 as the senior co-captain fell only in a second set tiebreak. However, his championship run was denied by the seeded Revanth Boppana of Carnegie Mellon. Josh Moskovitz and Kevin Yan both dropped their opening matches and will look to rebound in consolation action Sunday morning. In B1 singles, Dais Nakayama started his match with a three-set victory just like his fellow co-captain. He was upended in the quarterfinals of that draw. Raja Arul also contested B1 singles, falling in his Round of 16 match, and will return to consolation action on Sunday.
During championship doubles play, the Fords sent two doubles teams to the Round of 32. Kong and Yan won 8-5 in their opening match but had that score turned against them by the No. 5 seeded duo from Johns Hopkins. The seeded team of Moskovitz and Nakayama earned a first round bye, but came out on the short end of a hard-fought 8-6 match against their opponents from rival Swarthmore. Arul and Prinz also were drawn into championship doubles and will play consolation action after an 8-4 defeat to Virginia Wesleyan in the Round of 64.
Playing B1 doubles, Jun Mo and Arnav Patodia were convincing 8-3 winners against their opponents from Virginia Wesleyan, but were stopped in the quarterfinals by a Salisbury pairing via an 8-5 score. Nick Sweeney and Rob Kresch were knocked off in the opening round by a 9-7 score and will play consolation action on Sunday.
With no players remaining in the final rounds of the championship draws, men's tennis will wrap up its weekend at the ITA Southeast Regional on Sunday. A full player-by-player breakdown with the upcoming opponent is available below.
#9 Josh Moskovitz – Championship Singles
Round of 64: Lost vs. Nicholas Ruzicka (Christopher Newport), 6-4, 6-3Consolation 1: Brad Strober (Randolph) (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Ishaan Prinz – Championship Singles
Round of 64: Won vs. March Zheng (Washington & Lee), 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-2
Round of 32: Lost vs. #9 Revanth Boppana (Carnegie Mellon), 6-2, 6-0
Kevin Yan – Championship Singles
Round of 64: Lost vs. #3 Mark Fallati (Swarthmore), 6-2, 6-3
Consolation 1: vs. Noah Tapp (Washington & Lee) (Sunday, 2 p.m.)
Dais Nakayama – B1 Singles
Round of 16: Won vs. Nicolas Martin Yanes (Averett), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Moses Hutchinson (Mary Washington), 6-0, 6-3
Raja Arul – B1 Singles
Round of 16: Lost vs. Cole Tecce (Mary Washington), 6-2, 7-5
Consolation 1: vs. Michael Herman (Goucher) (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.)
Rob Kresch – B2 Singles
Round of 16: Won vs. Mitch Brody (Christopher Newport), 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Mason Groff (Ursinus), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Semifinals: vs. Luke Weaver (Washington College) (Sunday, 11 a.m.)
David Kong – B2 Singles
Round of 16: Won vs. Slade Dumas (Goucher), 7-6 (5), 6-0
Quarterfinals: Won vs. Ryan Berry (Mary Washington), 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Semifinals: vs. Kelson Weber (Salisbury) (Sunday, 11 a.m.)
#9 Josh Moskovitz/Dais Nakayama – Championship Doubles
Round of 64: bye
Round of 32: Lost vs. Ari Cepelewicz/Simon Vernier (Swarthmore), 8-6
David Kong/Kevin Yan – Championship Doubles
Round of 64: Won vs. Patrick MacLean/Colt Williamson (Salisbury), 8-5
Round of 32: Lost vs. #5 Cody Kim/David Perez (Johns Hopkins), 8-5
Raja Arul/Ishaan Prinz – Championship Doubles
Round of 64: Lost vs. Nicholas Gunther/Mitchell Perry (Virgnia Wesleyan), 8-4
Consolation 1: bye
Consolation 2: Tawhid Choudhury/Courtney Murphy (Wilkes) (Sunday, 8:45 a.m.)
Rob Kresch/Nick Sweeney – B1 Doubles
Round of 16: Lost vs. Clark Cummings/William Driskill (Hampden-Sydney), 9-7
Consolation 1: vs. Nathaniel Horner/Freddie Roberts (Bridgewater) (Sunday, 8 p.m.)
Jun Mo/Arnav Patodia – B1 Doubles
Round of 16: Won vs. Paul Gladstone/Anthony Wilson (Virginia Wesleyan), 8-3
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Stefan Hein/Kelson Weber (Salisbury), 8-5