SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Haverford College men's tennis team (15-5) were defeated by the eighth-ranked Swarthmore Garnet (15-6) by a score of 4-0 in the 2025 Centennial Conference Championship match on Saturday. The championship match took place at the Faulkner Tennis Courts on the campus of Swarthmore College.
With a crucial opening point on the line in doubles play, Swarthmore collected the coveted point with victories on courts one and two. On court two, the Garnet's Kai Chen and Andres Fente, who are ranked eighth in the ITA Atlantic South regional rankings for doubles, defeated the pairing of Marko Arboleda and Owen Kilmer, 6-1, before the number one doubles pairing in the ITA Atlantic South, Purushotham Koduri and Michael Melnikov, turned away James McKenzie and Justin Minerva 6-2 on court one. The match on court three between Swarthmore's Max Lindstrom and Oscar Zhang against Haverford's Teo Bortan and Zach Miano went uncompleted due to Centennial postseason rules that require playing the doubles point to decision.
Court two saw the Garnet extend their lead to 2-0, as ninth-ranked Lindstrom claimed a 6-1, 6-2, win over James McKenzie, before second-ranked Melnikov downed 16th-ranked Arboleda 6-2, 6-2, to give Swarthmore a commanding 3-0 lead. 15th-ranked Lalith Suresh earned the championship-clinching fourth point on court three, as the junior prevailed 6-0, 7-5, over Owen Kilmer, to claim the 4-0 victory for the Garnet. The singles matches for Niki Lavu, Minerva, and Chait Krishna, were also left unfinished due to playing to decision.
Finishing as the 2025 Centennial Conference runner-up, the Scarlet and Black have delivered an exciting campaign, reaching the Centennial Conference final for the first time since 2012–13 and recording 15 victories—the program's most wins since 1992 and just one shy of the school's all-time record. With hopes of extending their season, the Fords now await a potential NCAA Tournament berth.
Haverford is currently ranked 16th in the ITA National Poll and fourth in the ITA Atlantic South rankings. Haverford is third-ranked in the NCAA's Region III behind Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore. The 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Selection Show will stream live on NCAA.com on Monday, May 5, at 12:30 p.m., with individual selections to be announced via press release on May 7.