HAVERFORD, Pa. - The No. 28 Haverford College men's tennis team (7-5, 2-1 CC) fresh off its highest national ranking in program history, looked every bit the part in a convincing 8-1 victory over Franklin & Marshall (4-5, 1-3 CC), the 19th-ranked team in the Atlantic South region. Prior to the match, the last weekend home date of the regular season, Haverford honored its senior class of George Jiang, Patrick Kley, and Jackson Trevor, a group that has overcome the adversity of the pandemic to guide a young squad to new heights entering the final month of the regular season.
As has been the case in many key matchups for the Fords, doubles helped set the tone for singles play. Haverford's number three pairing of Trevor and Justin Minerva came away with an 8-5 victory before F&M battled back to take the number one doubles flight, with Adrian Charchalis and Isaac Rockower getting past Jiang and Stefan Johnson. Haverford got its second point of the day from Kley and Adam Chow as that pairing prevailed in a tiebreaker over Justin Pace and Tristan Steffe.
The Fords quickly made up for any potential momentum from that doubles point secured by the Diplomats, sweeping all six singles matches.
James McKenzie, Adam Chow, and Danny Loder each grabbed emphatic wins to ensure the Haverford victory. McKenzie allowed just three games to Alexander Cooke at the sixth flight while Chow outlasted Anthony Casale at the fifth. Loder clinched the match win with his 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Steffe at the third flight.
With the match decision in hand, Andreas Wingert remained undefeated in Centennial Conference action (3-0) as he took down Justin Pace at the second flight and Jiang got revenge for doubles with his 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Charchalis at the top flight. The last match to finish was also one of the most hotly contested as Stefan Johnson squeaked past Rockower, prevailing via tiebreak in each of the two sets.
Haverford is now 55-24-1 overall against F&M, including a commanding 34-9 mark at home. The Fords have not lost to Franklin & Marshall since 2013 and the 8-1 win was the most decisive result between the two sides since Haverford's 8-1 win in 2009.
Looking to keep its hot start to Centennial Conference action, the Fords will now head out on the road to Ursinus, playing a rare twilight match under the lights at Perkiomen Valley High School in Collegeville on Tuesday, April 12.
The Fords will take on the Bears at 6:30 p.m. before a trip to Dickinson on Saturday, April 16 (1 p.m.)