CLEVELAND, Ohio – The No. 16 Haverford College men's tennis team (16-4) secured its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory on Friday afternoon, sweeping Illinois Tech (12-10) with a 4-0 triumph at the Carlton Tennis Courts on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. The win matches the program's all-time record for most wins in a single season, now tied at 16 with the 1992 squad.

Newly named to the All-Centennial Conference First Team in doubles, James McKenzie and his partner Justin Minerva dominated Alexander Feher and Avneet Singh 6-0 on court one. On court two, the All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention duo of Marko Arboleda and Owen Kilmer clinched the crucial doubles point with a 6-2 victory over Pedro Carro Accino Roca and Hozumi Tada. The doubles match on court three, featuring Zach Miano and Teo Bortan against Pol Dueso-Gell and Eduardo Lopez, was abandoned due to NCAA postseason rules that only require doubles play to decision.

In singles action, McKenzie extended Haverford's lead to 2-0, dispatching Feher 6-1, 6-1. Shortly after, Chait Krishna made it 3-0 in favor of the Fords with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Singh.

Clinching the match with the vital fourth point was Minerva, who delivered a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over Lopez on court three, sealing Haverford's first-round NCAA Tournament victory at 4-0. The matches for Arboleda, Kilmer, and Niki Lavu were left unfinished in accordance with the NCAA's "clinch-clinch" format for tournament games.

The 16th-ranked Fords advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, May 10, where they will face No. 13 Kenyon at 2 p.m., again at the Carlton Tennis Courts in Cleveland.