EWING, N.J. – The No. 23 Haverford men's tennis team (8-2), fresh off its highest ranking in program history, secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 60 TCNJ (5-4) on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore Chait Krishna delivered the decisive win in a three-set battle at sixth singles flight to send the victory to Haverford after a hard-fought afternoon.
The match opened with a tightly contested doubles session, where TCNJ claimed the early advantage. The Lions struck first on court two as Brett Schuster and Alberto Thomas topped Marko Arboleda and Owen Kilmer, 6-3. Haverford responded at No. 3 doubles, where Teo Bortan and Zach Miano prevailed 6-4 to even the tally.
The crucial doubles point decision eventually came down to a tiebreak at the top spot, but TCNJ's duo of Harrison Maitland-Carter and Asa Wong edged out James McKenzie and Justin Minerva in a 7-6 (9-7) thriller, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
TCNJ extended its lead early in singles, as Thomas posted a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2 over McKenzie. However, Arboleda provided an immediate response for Haverford at No. 1, dispatching Maitland-Carter 7-5, 6-2 to put the Fords on the board. The Lions regained momentum with a straight-set win at No. 4, where Aidan Twamley defeated Niki Lavu 6-3, 6-3, extending TCNJ's lead to to 3-1.
With their backs against the wall, the Fords mounted a near flawless comeback. Kilmer battled back from a set down to secure a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 3, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Minerva followed with a clutch performance at No. 5, dominating the opening set before clinching a 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) win to level the overall match score at 3-3.
All eyes turned to court six, where Krishna and Olufela Fieulleteau were locked in a tense three-set showdown. After dropping the first set 4-6, Krishna dug deep to force a decider with a 6-3 second-set win. With the match on the line, Krishna held firm under pressure, roaring back with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory, sealing Haverford's eighth win of the season.
Haverford now heads back out on the road Saturday, with a Centennial Conference showdown on the docket for April 5 at No. 39 Franklin & Marshall (12 p.m.)