The second-seeded Fords got on the scoreboard first in doubles play, as the team of Rachael Fitzgerald and Abhishree Menon prevailed over third-seeded Swarthmore’s Spencer Watts and Oviya Kumaran 8-6.
The second-seeded No. 31 Haverford College women’s tennis team (10-5) hosts third-seeded No. 32 Swarthmore (11-5) in CC tournament semifinal action at the Bramall and Marshall Courts on the Haverford campus Thursday afternoon.
In the ITA rankings, Haverford checks in as the No. 29 team in the nation, the second-ranked team out of the Centennial Conference behind just No. 6 Johns Hopkins.
Before doubles play began, the Scarlet and Black collected three points right off the bat, as the Shorewomen forfeited the third doubles slot, as well as the the fifth and sixth singles flights, due to lack of available players for the hosts.
Before the match, the Fords honored its Class of 2024, Annie Barrett, Mimi Lavin, Emily Oh, Abbey Russano, and Summer Williams, in a Senior Day ceremony, celebrating their hard work and dedication over the past four seasons.
The win for the Fords was Haverford’s first victory over Swarthmore since the 2018 season, where the Fords defeated the Garnet 5-1 in the Centennial Conference semifinals.
On court one, the dynamic duo of Abbey Russano and Ellie Esterowitz proved why they were ranked eighth in the Atlantic Regional Rankings for women’s doubles this past week, as the duo defeated Andrea Brazyte and Avery Palandjian 8-5.
On court one, the paring of Abbey Russano and Ellie Esterowitz denied Alessandra Armour and Avery Samer 8-2, while the combo of Erika Phanord and Summer Williams took down Caroline Daly and Julia Nitz 8-2 on court three, to give Haverford the comfortable 3-0 lead headed into singles play.
After dropping the first set 6-3, Oh came battling back, picking up a second set victory 6-3. In the decisive third set Oh’s resilience led her to a 6-4, third set win, as Oh’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory gave the Scarlet and Black their fourth win of the game.
Just a season ago, Haverford reached the Centennial Conference tournament for the 12th time out of the last 13 years, following an 11-8 overall record bolstered by an impressive 7-2 conference mark in 2023.
Having qualified for the Centennial Conference tournament in 12 of the last 13 years, Haverford aspires to extend this streak to 13 out of the last 14 in 2024.