LANCASTER, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team (5-4, 3-1 CC) picked up a road Centennial Conference victory on Sunday, prevailing over Franklin & Marshall (6-5, 1-2 CC) by a 4-3 final at the indoor courts of the Alumni Sports and Fitness Center. Haverford won the first four points of the day to clinch the match at 4-0 before the Diplomats took the final three.
The Diplomats struck first in doubles, as the team of Sahara Ahmad and Natalie Untermeyer defeated Erika Phanord and Abhishree Menon, 6-1, on court two. The Fords evened doubles play on court one, with Rachael Fitzgerald and Mallika Reddy securing a 6-2 victory over Jenna Harrison and Mackenzie Sherman.
The coveted doubles point was decided on court three, where the rookie duo of Caroline Gay and Lucy King prevailed in dramatic fashion, 7-5, over Amelia Squires and Sophia Rhazali to give Haverford a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Extending the Fords lead to 2-0, King dismissed Ahmad, 6-1, 6-0, on court two, before Reddy took down Sherman on court three by a score of 6-1, 7-5, for Haverford's third point of the match.
Haverford clinched the match on court one, as Fitzgerald outlasted Harrison in the top flight, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-1 tiebreaker).
With the match clinched at 4–0, the remaining singles matches went to F&M, as the fifth and sixth flights were played as single pro sets.
At the fourth flight, Natalie Untermeyer of Franklin & Marshall secured a straight-sets victory over Erika Phanord, 6–1, 6–1, in a swift match that lasted under an hour. In the fifth spot, Sophia Rhazali added another point for the Diplomats with an 8–4 win over Haverford's Abhishree Menon. Wrapping up the day at sixth singles, Rebecca Bellick made it three in a row for F&M, defeating Caroline Gay 8–1.
With the conference victory in hand, the Fords will return home for a Wednesday matchup against Washington College at the Bramall Courts. First serve is slated for 4 p.m.