SWARTHMORE, Pa. – In a showdown of Hood Trophy rivals where both teams entered the match with undefeated records in Centennial Conference play, the Haverford College women's tennis team came up just short in a 6-3 defeat at rival Swarthmore Friday afternoon. The Fords (9-2, 5-1 CC) began the match riding the program's longest winning streak in over 20 years before suffering their first defeat since the season opener against NYU back in early March.
The Garnet (8-6, 7-0 CC) came into the match ranked eighth as a team in the Atlantic South Region and took an early 3-0 lead against the 11th-ranked Fords with a sweep of the doubles action. Haverford came close to salvaging an early point at No. 3 doubles before Clara Farrehi and Sam Berg were edged out by an 8-6 score. The top two doubles points went to the hosts by 8-4 scores.
Despite that early deficit and a tough uphill climb needed to get back in the match, Haverford completely erased its deficit and tied the match at three-all with a strong performance in singles. Regionally-ranked Julia Gan got the momentum swinging in Haverford's favor as she allowed just four games during her No. 1 singles match. Gan was a 6-3, 6-1 winner and now holds an 8-6 record this year.
Emily Shutman and Jane Bary then tied the score with their straight-set victories. Shutman picked up her team-leading 10th win of the season as she was a 6-3, 6-2 winner in the fourth singles match. The sophomore is now a perfect 5-0 in Centennial Conference singles matches and riding a nine-match winning streak overall. Bary was a 6-3, 7-5 winner at No. 2 singles. She has now won eight straight matches for the Fords, including a perfect 4-0 record in conference clashes. Bary is unbeaten in seven matches at her usual spot in the lineup.
Despite the Fords seemingly having momentum squarely in their corner, the Garnet regrouped and claimed the final three matches on court to pull out the victory. Greta Koch fell behind after being edged out in a 7-5 opening set of her No. 3 singles match and could not complete the comeback. Sam Berg took seven games off of her opponent at No. 6 singles, but was stopped just shy in both sets. Clara Farrehi secured three games in the second set of her No. 5 singles match, but could not come any closer in her bid to double up on her doubles victory earlier on Friday.
The challenging weekend of Centennial Conference action continues tomorrow for the Fords as they welcome No. 20 Johns Hopkins to campus for an 11 a.m. start. The Blue Jays are currently unbeaten through their first five conference matches.