FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Competing at the ITA Southeast Regional on the campus of Mary Washington on October 1 and October 2, the Haverford College men's tennis team looked strong in both singles and doubles, setting the tone for what figures to be an exciting spring campaign in the Centennial Conference season.
Singles Play
In championship singles first round action, the Fords picked up a pair of victories as Andreas Wingert was an early standout, beating Landon Strober of Washington College by a 6-2, 7-5 final in what could be a preview of Centennial postseason action to come against the Shoremen. George Jiang powered past Tristan Steffe of F&M by a 6-3, 7-6(7) tally as Centennial foes squared off yet again in early round play.
In consolation flight action in the championship bracket, Danny Loder slipped past Keith Orr of Shenandoah by a 6-1, 7-6(3) final and Justin Minerva took a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ryan Meyer of host Mary Washington in the B3 singles flight. Minerva advanced through to the consolation final with the triumph in hand. James McKenzie similarly reached the B4 singles final, posting a victory over Christopher Catan of Salisbury (7-5, 6-4) before being outlasted by Will Oberholtzer of conference foe Ursinus in a three-set thriller.
Doubles Play
In championship bracket doubles play, the pairing of Jiang and Jackson Trevor grabbed an 8-6 pro-set victory over a pairing from Swarthmore, and the two also outlasted a grouping from Virginia Wesleyan by that same margin to advance to a Saturday morning showdown with a pair from Mary Washington in the Round of 16, falling 8-5 in that matchup. The pairing of Patrick Kley and Abhinav Nallapareddy reached the consolation semifinal in its quadrant of the bracket, falling to a pair from Swarthmore by an 8-6 final.
Loder and Minerva took home the B1 Doubles consolation flight, beating a pairing from Salisbury in the consolation semis and then prevailing in an all-Haverford matchup in the consol finals with Jason Edmonds and Kieran Eicher on the other side of the net, as a spirited display went to a tiebreaker before Loder and Minerva grabbed the win over their teammates by a final of 8-7(8).
With the fall season now completed, Haverford looks to the spring 2022 campaign with first year head coach Eric Spangler at the helm of the squad. The spring dual meet schedule will begin on February 26, 2022 in Hoboken, N.J. as the Fords battle Stevens in what is likely to be an indoor match. The first serve time is still to be announced.