SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team opened its fall season at the Swarthmore Invitational over the weekend. Playing the two-day event on Saturday and returning for Sunday, the Fords' action was highlighted by a run to the championship match in doubles by Greta Koch and Robyn Himelstein in Flight 1.
The pairing of Koch and Himelstein conceded just four games to their opponents over the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The Haverford duo opened with an 8-3 win over Swarthmore's Anna Scheibmeir and Rachel Bronkema and backed that up with a convincing 8-1 win in the semifinals against Dickinson's Joana Nunes and Emily Sprague. The results of the championship match were unavailable as of press time. Also in the top singles flight was a run to the consolation finals from Jia-Ling Tuan and Rory Lewis.
With two flights of doubles action, Caroline Steliotes and Emily Chazen won their first match over Dickinson's pairing of Jaclyn Baum and Melissa Anese, 8-5. After falling by that same score in the semifinals, the results of the third place match in Flight 2 was unavailable as of press time.
Singles action was highlighted by a very balanced team performance as the Fords had a player win at least two matches in each of the top four singles flights. This string of success included both of Haverford's Flight 1 players finishing with 2-2 records. Koch got her singles draw off to a perfect start with a pair of victories on Saturday, including a 10-point tiebreak victory against Dickinson's Sydney Diamond. However, Koch was unable to play in either of her singles matches on Sunday. Himelstein also went 2-2 in the top singles draw. Both of her victories came in straight sets as she allowed just four games in each match with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Saturday and 6-2, 6-2 win on Sunday.
Lewis and Courtney Ahmed also won a pair of matches in Flights 2 and 3, respectively. Lewis also got her tournament started with a 2-0 record on Saturday with back-to-back straight set wins in Flight 2. Ahmed was a straight set winner on Saturday before pulling out a hard-fought 10-8 victory in the 10-point tiebreak during her third match of the singles draw. Playing Flight 4, Steliotes was the Fords' final two-match winner in singles play. Steliotes came through with a 10-point tiebreak win over Swarthmore's Amanda Izes before a straight set win on Sunday. Both of Steliotes' losses came in 10-point tiebreak fashion.
Other winners for Haverford over the weekend came from Flights 2 through 5. Tuan won a 10-point tiebreak during her third match against Dickinson's Nunes. In Flight 3, Renata DiDonato picked up her first collegiate victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win of Dickinson's Elizabeth Marin. In Flight 4, Chazen had similar success against Dickinson's Lydia Fox with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Annika Ulrich and Stephany Prodromos both won a match in Flight 5. Prodromos' victory came in her collegiate debut with a 6-3, 6-2 win against her Red Devils' opponent. Ulrich was victorious in her first match Sunday during a 6-2, 6-2 win.
After getting the fall season underway, the Fords return to action in two weekends as they travel to Mary Washington for the ITA Regionals. The regional draw will take place from Saturday, September 26 and continue through Monday, September 28.