COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team won its fifth straight Centennial Conference match this season with a 7-2 victory over Ursinus on Tuesday night. The Fords (5-4, 5-0 CC) have now won eight straight Centennial Conference regular season matches dating back to last year, making this the third-longest conference winning streak in program history.
The only longer streaks in program history came when the Fords won nine straight Centennial matches during the 1994 and 1999 seasons. In both of those years, the Fords ended up finishing second in the conference's regular season standings for their highest placement to date. During its most recent victory, Haverford got off to a quick start by winning two of the three doubles matches before adding five more victories in singles.
Starting off the match in doubles, Haverford got convincing victories from its No. 1 and No. 3 teams. The Fords' No. 3 pairing of Sarah Evenson and Claire Johnson blanked its opponents with eight straight games won as that duo is now 4-0 in conference play. The No. 1 pairing of Emily Shutman and Clara Farrehi won by an 8-2 score. The Farrehi/Shutman team has now won two straight matches together and is 3-2 in Centennial matches.
The host Bears salvaged the middle doubles match with a tiebreak victory. Ananya Prakash and Natalie Williams came into the match riding a four-match winning streak together, but a 7-3 tiebreak score kept that pairing's run from going to five straight. With two more wins in doubles tonight, Haverford is 12-3 overall in conference doubles across all three flights.
Changing over to singles, Emily Shutman, Clara Farrehi, and Claire Johnson were all winners in both singles and doubles. Farrehi improved to a perfect 5-0 in Centennial singles matches as she won a 10-point tiebreak at No. 3. Down a set early, Farrehi won the tiebreak by a 10-3 score after leveling the match with a 6-4 second set victory. Playing at No. 1, Shutman also won a 10-point tiebreak. She went up 6-2 in her first set and won the tiebreak by a 10-4 score. Shutman has now won two straight singles matches and is 3-2 in conference play.
Natalie Williams won in straight sets for the Fords at No. 2 singles. After a 7-6 (5) tiebreak win to start her match, Williams cruised to a 6-0 victory during the second set. She has now won three straight matches and is 4-1 against Centennial foes. The Nos. 4-6 singles matches were all played to eight-game pro sets. Capping her 2-0 night, Johnson won an 8-2 match at No. 4. She is now a perfect 3-0 playing in the fourth flight.
Bouncing back in singles, Ananya Prakash turned a tiebreak in her favor at No. 5 singles. Prakash won the tiebreak by a 7-3 score after she and her opponent split the first 14 games. Prakash is 3-1 in CC singles matches. Ursinus' only win in singles came at No. 6 where Renato DiDonato was edged out by an 8-5 score.
Women's tennis will look to keep its winning ways going this weekend as McDaniel comes to town. First serves in that match are slated for 1 p.m.