HAVERFORD, Pa. – For the first time in program history, the Haverford College women's tennis team earned a national ranking as the Fords finished in a tie for the 40th position during the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national team rankings. The Fords – ranked eighth in the final Atlantic South Regional rankings – tied with Hope, Lewis and Clark, and Trinity (Conn.) for that final spot. In singles, Julia Gan finished her sophomore season as the No. 21 player in the ITA's regional singles rankings.
Haverford embarked on a historic campaign which saw the team reach the Centennial Conference Championship match for just the second time in school history. To get there, the Fords avenged their regular season defeat to Swarthmore with a 5-1 triumph during the Centennial Conference semifinals before falling to conference champion Johns Hopkins. Haverford finished the year with an overall record of 13-4, sporting an 8-2 record in Centennial Conference matches.
The Fords were making their ninth appearance at the Centennial Conference Tournament during the past 10 seasons under first-year head coach Andrew Cohn. Haverford's only other trip to the Centennial Conference Championship match came during the 2014 season.
Individually, Gan earned regional recognition as she won nine matches at the top of the lineup for Haverford. A first-team All-Centennial Conference singles selection, as well as a member of the academic honor roll, Gan advanced to the Round of 32 at the fall regional championships and won four different matches without conceding a game this spring.
Looking ahead to next season, Haverford returns both of its first-team All-Centennial Conference singles players in Gan and Jane Bary but will have to fill the graduation void left by second-team All-CC performer Greta Koch. Emily Shutman, an honorable mention singles selection, is also back as she and Bary were honored as second-team all-conference for their doubles play.