No. 31 Jays Prevail Over Women's Tennis In Battle of Centennial Undefeateds, 7-2

Ellie Esterowitz

Posted: Apr 08, 2023

BALTIMORE, Md. - The Haverford College women's tennis team (6-6, 4-1 CC) faced No. 31 ranked Johns Hopkins (13-3, 7-0 CC) on Saturday at the Johns Hopkins Tennis Courts in Baltimore. Unfortunately for Haverford, the Fords took their first conference loss of the season, 7-2, in a hard-fought match between a pair of Centennial Conference postseason hopefuls.

The first doubles pairing to finish was at the second flight, where the Johns Hopkins duo of MaryBeth Hurley and Emily Javedan defeated Rachael Fitzgerald and Summer Williams 8-1.

Soon after, Kamila Wong and Jay Xiao of Johns Hopkins won 8-1 at the first flight against Ellie Esterowitz and Abbey Russano. Finally, at the third flight, Anjali Devireddy and Christina Huynh of Johns Hopkins took down Haverford's Mimi Lavin and Abhishree Menon by an 8-3 final.

The first singles match to finish saw Celnina Liu defeat Erika Phanord at the sixth flight, 6-0, 6-2, to put the Blue Jays on the brink of clinching the overall match. Ellie Esterowitz led the way at the second flight, defeating Jay Xiao of Johns Hopkins 6-1, 6-4 to put a crucial tally in the Haverford column.

MaryBeth Hurley quickly defeated Abbey Russano of Haverford 6-0, 6-4 at the top flight to clinch the match for the hosts. At the third flight, Kamila Wong then won 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) over Mimi Lavin.

Rachael Fitzgerald battled hard at the fourth flight and managed to win a tight match 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) against Anjali Devireddy, putting Haverford's second tally of the afternoon on the board.

However, Johns Hopkins' Christina Huynh defeated Summer Williams 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 at the fifth flight to reflect the 7-2 final score.

Overall, it was a challenging match for Haverford, but the Fords demonstrated resilience and a strong fighting spirit against the reigning Centennial Conference champs. The Fords again put up a fight in every match, and wins at the second and fourth flights prove that this squad can compete against top-ranked opponents.

Haverford now faces a quick turnaround, taking on Hood Trophy rival No. 20 Swarthmore on Tuesday afternoon at home. The contest will begin at 4 p.m. as Centennial Conference play continues.