HAVERFORD, Pa. – The fourth-seeded Haverford College women's tennis team opens up the Centennial Conference Tournament Wednesday on the Bettye Marshall Tennis Courts against Ursinus at 4 p.m. The Fords (14-4, 7-3 CC) come into the conference tournament with their most wins as a team since the 1999 season. Haverford defeated the fifth-seeded Bears (14-6, 5-5 CC) by a 6-3 score when these teams met at the beginning of the month. Live scoring will be available through the link above.
The Fords bring five players into Wednesday's contest that have won at least 10 singles matches during the regular season. As a team, Haverford has gone 79-29 in singles play during the spring season, a .731 winning percentage. Playing No. 1 singles, Caitlin Gallagher (10-10, 5-5 CC) has 54 careers singles victories. She can move up to a tie for sixth in program history alongside Kate Maggiotto '07 and Laura Chaddock '06 with one more victory. The Fords' No. 2 singles entrant, and Reigning Centennial Conference Player of the Week, Greta Koch (14-3, 6-1 CC) comes into the match 9-1 in her last 10 matches.
In the third singles slot. Robyn Himelstein (15-5, 9-1 CC) is also 9-1 in her last 10 matches during the spring. The Fords got wins in each of the top three positions in the lineup during the regular season match against Ursinus. Himelstein already has 42 career singles victories to her credit. Abby Payson (14-7, 6-4 CC) and Jessica Liu (13-5, 4-4 CC) will have chances to avenge regular season losses on Wednesday. Payson has gone 11-4 in matches played at the No. 4 slot. Liu is 11-3 in her matches at the No. 5 position. Jia-Ling Tuan will look to get the call against Ursinus. She is 4-1 in Centennial Conference action and looking to turn the tables on her only loss of the year against Ursinus at No. 6.
Starting off with doubles on Wednesday, Haverford's No. 1 pairing of Gallagher and Himelstein has gone a team-best 12-6 overall and 7-3 in conference play. In the middle pairing, Koch and Liu have gone 6-3 together this season. They are 5-2 in conference matches and riding a four-match winning streak together entering the postseason. Kristen Andersen and Payson round out the Haverford doubles contingent. They are 3-2 together on the year with each of those wins coming in Centennial Conference action. Haverford used these same three pairings in the regular season match against Ursinus and got a quick 3-0 jump on their conference foes.
The 2015 spring season marks the seventh straight year during which Haverford will be represented in the conference playoffs. Haverford has made the semifinals in five of the six previous seasons, including last year's first-ever appearance in the championship match. Ursinus is making its first appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament this season. Haverford is 2-1 all-time in Centennial Conference first round contests.
With a win on Wednesday, the Fords would advance to the Centennial Conference semifinals for the sixth time in the last seven years. The winner of Wednesday's match will face top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the semifinal round.