NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The No. 38 Haverford College Men's Tennis team (0-2) kicked off the season with a pair of challenging matchups at the James River Country Club in Newport News, Virginia, falling 8-1 to the host Captains of Christopher Newport before engaging in an epic back-and-forth match against No. 32 Washington & Lee, ultimately falling in a 5-4 final in the nightcap.
Christopher Newport 8, #38 Haverford 1
The day began with doubles action, and Christopher Newport took a commanding lead by securing all three doubles points. The duo of Vincent Truong and Nesh Kumaresan overcame Stefan Johnson and Marko Arboleda with a score of 8-5. Ashton Legum and Edvard Porsmyr Hansen faced a challenging match against McKenzie and Kirin Eichner, ultimately triumphing in a tiebreaker with a score of 8-7 [7-4]. The pair of Mitchell and Ahun Vodela defeated Justin Minerva and Max Beckwith with an 8-4 victory.
Transitioning to singles play with a 3-0 advantage, the first completed match showcased Ashton Legum's win over Justin Minerva with a score of 6-0, 6-2 at the fourth flight. Vincent Truong secured the match win for the Captains by overcoming Marko Arboleda in a competitive match at the second flight, with things ending 6-2, 7-5. Ryan Monroe continued the success for the hosts, prevailing over Aiden Kim at the third flight with a score of 7-5, 6-4. Gus Mitchell secured a victory at the fifth position, turning away James McKenzie with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
A thrilling three-set battle unfolded between the top seeds, CNU's Edvard Porsmyr Hansen and Haverford's Stefan Johnson. After Johnson claimed the first set 6-4, Porsmyr Hansen responded by winning the second set 6-4, setting the stage for a decisive third set. In a closely contested final set, Porsmyr Hansen emerged victorious in extra points, defeating Johnson 10-6 and securing the set 7-6. The final score stood at 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-6) in favor of Porsmyr Hansen.
Haverford managed to put up a point in singles play as Chait Krishna secured a hard-fought win over Alex Seretis at the sixth flight. After a super breaker in the third set, Krishna emerged triumphant with a score of 5-7, 7-5, 1-0, [10-7].
#32 Washington & Lee 5, #38 Haverford 4
Against Washington & Lee, the Fords ultimately dropped a thriller that came down to a super breaker at the sixth singles position to decide the victor.
In doubles play, Haverford looked strong with a pair of decisive victories after falling behind 1-0, as James Kurani and Connor Coleman defeated Minerva and Beckwith 8-3 at the third doubles flight for the first Washington & Lee tally of the afternoon.
Haverford roared back at the top flight, with Stefan Johnson and Marko Arboleda setting the tone with a crucial victory over Evan Erb and Eli Hirshberg of Washington and Lee just moments after James McKenzie and Kirin Eicher grabbed a win over Heys Parker and Josh Rassin, 8-6 at the second flight.
Heading into singles action, Erb and Johnson rematched at the top flight, with Erb taking the first set 6-3 before Johnson was forced to retire in the second set for the second Washington & Lee tally of singles action. Heys Parker earned a straight-set win over Justin Minerva (6-3, 6-2), but Aiden Kim tied things up at 3-3 with his 6-4, 7-5 triumph over James Kurani at the third flight.
Sanjheev Rao prevailed 6-1, 6-1 over McKenzie, putting W&L on the brink of a clinch, but Arboleda then went to work for his squad, prevailing over Will Kistler in a marathon that saw Arboleda grab a 6-2 first-set win before Kistler took a tiebreak in the second set. The third set went to a superbreaker where Arboleda prevailed 10-5 to even things up yet again, this time at 4-4.
With the overall score tied at 4-4, a thrilling and decisive match unfolded between Haverford's Chait Krishna and Washington and Lee's Connor Coleman. The match was a thrilling three-setter, and Coleman eventually prevailed with a score of 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 1-0 (10-5), fending off Krishna in a first-set tiebreak before Krishna turned the tide in the second set. Coleman eventually secured the overall victory for Washington and Lee in the superbreaker by a 10-5 final to help the Generals escape by the thinnest of margins.
With the season-opening weekend now in the rearview, Haverford will begin conference action on Saturday, March 2, taking on Muhlenberg at 1 p.m. in Allentown. The contest will serve as a precursor to Haverford's spring break trip to the Orlando, Fla. area, where five matches in five days await the Fords.