HAVERFORD, Pa. - The 46th-ranked Haverford College men's tennis team (5-4) stumbled against Stevens (4-4) in the home-opening match of the 2024 spring season on a sunny yet breezy Friday afternoon at the Bramall and Marshall Courts.

The Ducks surged ahead in doubles play, with the pairing of Samvid Andhare and Max-William Kans triumphing over Adam Chow and Justin Minerva 8-2. Meanwhile, on court one, Haverford evened the score at 1-1 in a hard-fought battle, as the duo of Stefan Johnson and Marko Arboleda bested Olaf Persson and Sebastian Wroe 8-6.

The pivotal match of doubles play unfolded on court two, where Stevens seized control over the Scarlet and Black. The team of Vivekraj Harinarayan and Aashutush Kulakarni Prachet outplayed James McKenize and Kirin Eicher 8-4, granting the Ducks a 2-1 lead in the contest.

Moving into singles, Aiden Kim leveled the match at 2-2, dominating Harinarayan 6-2, 6-2 in the second flight. However, Kans edged out Nikhil Lavu 6-4, 7-6 (7-1 Tiebreaker), returning the lead to Stevens at 3-2.

In flight three, Minerva secured his first win of the day, overcoming Andrew He in a three-set thriller, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, knotting he match at 3-3.

Flights five and six witnessed two intense three-set battles favoring the Ducks. Persson narrowly overcame McKenize 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, while Andhare sealed the deal against Chow 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, clinching the fifth win for Stevens.

On court one, Arboleda battled past Kulakarni Prachet in a total of 27 games, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. However, it proved insufficient for the Scarlet and Black, as the Ducks secured a 5-4 victory over Haverford.

Men's Tennis now returns to Bettye Marshall and Norman B. Bramall Tennis Courts on Saturday, March 30, at 11:30 a.m., as the Fords host TCNJ, a squad ranked 17th in the ITA National Computerized Rankings.