CARLISLE, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team doubled up Dickinson by a 6-3 score to clinch a spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament on Sunday. The Fords (8-6, 6-2 CC) controlled the bottom half of the lineups in singles and doubles to thwart the Red Devils (3-9, 2-5 CC) in their upset bid. In doing so, Haverford clinched its eighth postseason appearance in the last nine years after missing the conference tournament in 2016.
Jessica Liu and Clara Farrehi earned the Fords' first point in doubles with an 8-3 victory in the third doubles match. That pairing is now an impressive 7-2 in spring duals with a 6-2 record against Centennial Conference foes. Dickinson leveled the match at one-all with an 8-2 victory in the top doubles match.
A hard-fought 9-7 win in the middle doubles spun the momentum in favor of the Fords heading into singles. Emily Shutman and Jane Bary evenly split the first 14 games of their match before breaking and holding serve to secure a 9-7 win. That duo gave Haverford a 2-1 advantage heading into singles and is now 7-2 together this spring (6-2 CC).
The Fords clinched the match with straight set victories in the Nos. 3-6 singles matches. Abby Payson faced the toughest opposition, but still prevailed by a 6-4, 6-2 score at third singles. The co-captain now has seven wins on the year with three of those coming in conference matches. Bary allowed just one game during her opening set as she rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 4 singles. She is now 5-1 in conference matches with a 7-3 record this spring.
Rory Lewis and Liu also posted impressive victories. Lewis allowed just one game in each of her two sets to record her fifth singles win of the spring. The Fords' No. 5 singles player has come on strong in conference play with a 5-2 record in those duals. Liu allowed just three games to her opponent at No. 6 singles as she won 6-2, 6-1. The co-captain has a team-leading 10 victories on the season and is now a perfect 6-0 in conference singles. Dickinson did claim the top two singles matches to make the final score 6-3.
Women's tennis will return to the Bettye Marshall Tennis Courts for its final two matches of the regular season this week. Up first, the Fords will take on No. 40 Swarthmore. That Wednesday match, which features a Hood Trophy point up for grabs, will get underway at 4 p.m. Haverford closes the regular season with a 12 p.m. start on Saturday against Gettysburg.