GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Haverford College men's tennis team opened its Centennial Conference schedule with a dominant 6-1 victory over Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon at the Bullets Tennis Courts. The Fords swept doubles play and clinched the match early in singles before the Bullets picked up their lone point in a tight contest at No. 1 singles. Haverford improves to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the Centennial Conference, while Gettysburg falls to 6-8 and 0-2 in league play.
Haverford took control from the start, winning all three doubles matches to secure the first point of the afternoon. The second flight duo of Marko Arboleda and Owen Kilmer finished first with a 6-1 win over Teo Burgess and Matt Porreca. The top pairing of Justin Minerva and James McKenzie followed with a 6-3 victory over Adam Contract and Mikey Fellman to clinch the doubles point. The sweep was completed when Max Beckwith and Daniel Loder edged Owen Kutlu and JP Damare 6-4 at No. 3.
In singles play, Haverford quickly put the match out of reach. Minerva delivered the first singles win at No. 5, overpowering Connor McPartland 6-1, 6-0. Kilmer followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 3 over Kutlu, bringing the Fords within one point of the clinch.
McKenzie secured the team win moments later, defeating Contract 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. With the result decided, play continued on the remaining courts. Niki Lavu added to Haverford's total with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Ben O'Connor-Skloot at No. 4. Gettysburg's lone victory came in dramatic fashion, as Fellman battled past Arboleda in a marathon match at top flight singles, winning 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9) in a super tiebreaker.
In the final match of the day, Chait Krishna completed Haverford's strong performance with a comeback win over Malek Mustafa at No. 6, rallying for a 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5) victory.
Haverford now returns to action on Wednesday with a non-conference trip to TCNJ, as the match is slated for a 3:30 p.m. first serve. Conference play continues next Saturday at 40th-ranked Franklin & Marshall (12 p.m.).