Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team is set to make its ninth Centennial Conference Tournament appearance in 10 years after going 12-3 during the regular season with an 8-2 record against Centennial Conference competition. That success has garnered the Fords the No. 11 ranking in the ITA Atlantic South Regional and the No. 3 seed overall in the conference tournament. The Fords will start their postseason journey at second-seeded Swarthmore (10-8, 9-1 CC) this Saturday at 11 a.m.
Haverford has earned a top three seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for just the second time in program history. The only other time the Fords were seeded third was the 2014 season when they advanced to the Centennial Conference Championship match for the first time in program history. Haverford has now made it to at least the semifinal round of the conference playoffs during eight of its nine postseason trips. Saturday will mark the first-ever postseason meeting between the rival Fords and Garnet.
Swarthmore came away with a 6-3 victory when these teams met back in the middle of April. The Fords claimed three of the top four singles wins for their team points. Julia Gan, the No. 21 player in the Atlantic South Region rankings, enters the weekend with a 9-7 record this year (3-3 CC) at No. 1 singles. One of her conference victories came via a 6-3, 6-1 score during the first meeting with Swarthmore. Jane Bary was a 6-3, 7-5 winner against Swarthmore in the first matchup. The Fords' No. 2 singles player went unbeaten in her eight Centennial Conference matches during the regular season and is riding a 12-match winning streak.
At No. 4 singles, Emily Shutman came away with a 6-3, 6-2 victory during the regular season meeting with Swarthmore. Shutman has a team-leading 13 singles victories this season and holds an 8-1 record against conference opposition. She comes into the weekend riding a three-match winning streak. Greta Koch is one of three players on the Fords with at least 10 victories. The senior co-captain is 11-7 with a 6-2 record in the Centennial Conference. She has 38 career victories to her credit in singles.
Clara Farrehi is one win shy of the 10 victory mark as the mainstay at No. 5. Farrehi was 5-2 in conference matches during the regular season and has won two straight entering the tournament. Sam Berg has seen a majority of the action for the Fords at No. 6 in the lineup where she is 8-3 overall (5-1 CC). Ananya Prakash also has two Centennial Conference victories for the Fords this spring. Both players are riding two-match winning streaks.
In doubles, Julia Gan and Greta Koch moved up to No. 1 doubles for the final two matches of the regular season. That pairing has gone 8-4 overall, with half of its victories together coming during the conference season. That pairing swapped places in the lineup with Emily Shutman and Jane Bary. The Shutman/Bary team is unbeaten since moving to No. 2 and has nine victories overall. At No. 3 doubles, the Fords have a couple of options. Clara Farrehi and Natalie Williams are a perfect 3-0 in conference matches. Farrehi is also 5-2 when paired with Sam Berg, including a pair of CC victories.
The winner of Saturday's semifinal match will advance to Sunday's Centennial Conference Championship against the winner of top-seeded Johns Hopkins and fourth-seeded Washington College. The championship match will be Sunday at 11 a.m. in Baltimore.