HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's tennis team opened up play at the Haverford/Swarthmore Invitational, officially kicking off the fall portion of the 2023-24 season on the Haverford campus against some of the top teams in the area. The Fords added 10 total wins over the two days of action.
Haverford vs. Vassar
On Friday afternoon at the outdoor Bramall/Marshall Courts, the Fords won four total matches against Vassar, who finished No. 35 nationally last season, on a windy, chilly afternoon as storms began to brew off the coast. The doubles pairing of Justin Minerva and Adam Chow outlasted Pedro Cattaruzzi and Benjamin Almquist by an 8-6 final while Minerva was also victorious in singles play, taking down Henry Zhang (6-4, 6-4). Chow dispatched Cattaruzzi, as the Vassar player was forced to retire after Chow went ahead 6-3 in the first set and was winning 3-2 in the second frame when the match was halted.
Newcomer Chait Krishna also picked up his first collegiate win, taking down Miles Sondergaard-Jensen. Elsewhere, Stefan Johnson took his Brewers opponent to a superbreaker before falling in that decider, and Marko Arboleda did the same after taking a 6-2 win over Almquist in his first set.
Haverford vs. Hamilton
As action shifted inside Alumni Field House on Saturday, Haverford continued a strong start to the season with six total wins against the NESCAC's Continentals. The doubles pairing of Arboleda and Minerva was an 8-5 winner over Tarun Korwar and Coby Feldman while Krishna and Niki Lavu prevailed over Pius Lo and Neal Gupta by the same 8-5 final.
In singles action, Arboleda got past Anson Anderson (7-6[4], 6-1) and Aiden Kim dispatched Feldman in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. Minerva also won in straight sets over Charlie Sternberg (7-5, 6-4). James Mckenzie got the better of Ignatio Tran in a pro set (8-7[3]). Stefan Johnson also took his opponent to a superbreaker before falling in three (6-0, 4-6, 10-4).
The Fords now return to action on Sunday morning (9 a.m.) indoors against NYU to wrap up the Haverford/Swarthmore Invitational. Next weekend, the Fords head to the ITA Southeast Regional at Mary Washington. More information about that tournament, including times and draws, is slated to be announced in the coming days.