All-Centennial Conference Release
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Following another successful season, the Haverford College men's tennis team was once again well represented among the All-Centennial Conference honorees as announced by conference officials. Led by the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year, Sean Sloane, the Fords had four All-Centennial Conference singles recipients in Josh Moskovitz (first team), Kevin Yan (second team), David Kong (second team), and Ishaan Prinz (honorable mention). The pairing of Kong/Moskovitz also garnered first-team accolades, while the Dais Nakayama/Yan pairing earned second-team recognition. Additionally, Kong was recognized on the conference's all-sportsmanship list.
The four All-Centennial Conference singles picks represent the second straight season in which Haverford has had its program record for number of singles selections. The Fords also had two doubles teams represented for the second straight season, but just the sixth time in school history.
Josh Moskovitz earned first-team All-Centennial Conference recognition in singles for the second straight year. The 10th ranked player in the Atlantic South Region and 2016 CC Rookie of the Year is now a three-time honoree in singles after second-team honors during his rookie season. Moskovitz went 10-7 at No. 1 singles, compiling a 6-1 record against Centennial Conference competition. He defeated two other regionally-ranked opponents during the conference season, including then-No. 12 Vishnu Joshi of Johns Hopkins in three sets. Moskovitz was on his way to avenging his only conference singles defeat of the regular season before the Fords' Centennial Conference semifinal match against Swarthmore reached decision. The junior co-captain was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on three different occasions this season.
Kevin Yan, the 2017 Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, earned All-CC honors in singles for the second straight year. A second-team selection this year as a sophomore, Yan was a first-team singles recipient a year ago. Yan went 8-6 overall, playing primarily at No. 2 singles. He was 5-1 against conference opponents with his only defeat coming just one point shy of victory before being called for an inadvertent unsportsmanlike penalty and subsequent disqualification against Johns Hopkins. Yan played No. 1 singles in the match against Muhlenberg and defeated his opponent in straight sets. He also secured 10-point tiebreak victories against Franklin & Marshall and Swarthmore throughout the regular season. Yan was additionally named the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on May 2.
David Kong led the Fords with a 16-3 record in singles. The sophomore was 6-2 during Centennial Conference matches, moving up to No. 4 singles late in the season. Dating back to the fall, Kong won his first 11 singles matches of the year. The only time Kong needed an extra set to decide one of his conference singles victories came during a 10-point tiebreak victory against Franklin & Marshall. Two of his three defeats on the season came in three-set matches, while his only other defeat came after both sets needed extra games. Kong was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on March 19. He earns all-conference recognition in singles for the first time in his career after receiving this recognition in doubles as a rookie.
Senior co-captain Ishaan Prinz earned All-Centennial Conference recognition for the first time in his career with an honorable mention selection to the singles squad. Prinz compiled a 10-8 record this year. Playing primarily at No. 3 singles, he was 5-2 during Centennial Conference regular season matches. Prinz won a crucial match-up at No. 3 against Johns Hopkins during the regular season. Each of his CC victories came in straight sets during the regular season. Prinz capped his Haverford career with a 41-28 record in singles as a four-year member of the varsity lineup. That total is tied for the 12th most in program history.
Josh Moskovitz and David Kong received first-team all-conference recognition in doubles with a combined 9-5 record at the top spot in the lineup. That mark included a 6-1 record against Centennial Conference competition. Haverford's No. 1 pairing won five straight matches together at one point during the spring season. Moskovitz earns first-team recognition in doubles for the first time in his career as he was a two-time second-team All-CC performer in doubles coming into the season. Kong was a second-team All-CC performer in doubles prior to this season. The Moskovitz/Kong pairing is currently ranked 12th in the Atlantic South Region.
The pairing of Dais Nakayama and Kevin Yan garnered second-team recognition following a 9-5 record together at No. 2 doubles, including a 5-1 record against conference foes. The only loss of that pairing's regular season came in tiebreaks. That duo did successfully win a tiebreak against nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins and was an 8-6 winner against nationally-ranked Swarthmore's during the regular season. Nakayama earns second-team All-Centennial Conference recognition in doubles for the third straight season. He was also a three-time All-CC performer in singles during his Haverford career. After not being a part of the regular doubles lineup last year, Yan earned recognition in doubles for the first time in his career.
Sean Sloane was named the Centennial Conference of the Year after guiding the Fords to an 11-7 record, sporting a 7-2 mark against Centennial Conference opposition. Sloane, who recently announced his retirement, wraps up his 21 year coaching career at Haverford with a total of 214 victories, making him the second winningest coach in school history to only Norman Bramall. He has guided the Fords to the postseason during 12 of the conference's first 13 team tournament championships. During each of those seasons, his teams made it to at least the semifinal round. Haverford is currently ranked 13th as a team in the ITA's Atlantic South Region. The Fords only defeats in 2018 came to nationally-ranked opponents.