Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
Centennial Conference Team-by-Team Preview
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team has been picked to finish sixth in the Centennial Conference during the annual preseason voting of the conference's head coaches. The Fords received 52 votes in the poll.
Haverford tied for sixth place in the Centennial Conference standings a season ago and will welcome back seven players who saw time in the starting lineup last spring. The Fords will have to deal with the graduation loss of All-Centennial Conference honoree Robin Himelstein, but still have plenty of depth to overcome last year's lone senior under first-year head coach Arik Zeevy.
Greta Koch is the top returner from last season. She was an honorable mention All-Centennial Conference player in singles during her freshman campaign. Senior captains Abby Payson and Jessica Liu also solidify the top of the lineup. Payson has won 32 career singles matches, playing as high as No. 2 in her career. Liu boasts 20 career singles victories despite being limited last spring. Playing as high as No. 4 singles in her career, the senior also has 21 career doubles wins.
Juniors Jia-Ling Tuan and Courtney Ahmed have also been constant contributors during their first two years with the program. Tuan has won four singles matches in each of her first two seasons with an additional five doubles wins as a sophomore last spring. Ahmed came on strong last spring with eight wins in both singles and doubles as she played as high as No. 3 in the singles lineup. Freshmen Ali Morrow and Emily Shutman also gained valuable experience at the ITA Southeast Regional this fall and will bolster the lineup this spring.
In spite of the constant shuffling to the lineup last year, the Fords won seven matches as a team. Haverford had made the Centennial Conference Tournament in each of the previous seven seasons before sitting just one spot out of the conference tournament a year ago.
Women's tennis opens its spring season on Friday, February 24 against No. 30 New York University. Centennial Conference play begins on Saturday, March 25 at McDaniel.