Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. - Entering the Centennial Conference postseason on a major roll, the No. 29 Haverford College men's tennis team (13-5, 7-1 CC) checks in with seven consecutive match victories overall, a streak dating back to April 9. In the latest ITA National Rankings, Haverford is the No. 29 team in the nation, as well as the number seven team in the Atlantic South region.
George Jiang has ballooned up those same ITA rankings, as he enters Saturday as the number 10 singles player in the Atlantic South while Haverford's doubles pairing of Jiang and Stefan Johnson is the 16th-ranked pairing in the region.
In the NCAA Regional Rankings, which comprise different and more numerous regions from the ITA, Haverford enters third in Region III while Jiang is the fourth-ranked singles player and Andreas Wingert checks in at number seven. The doubles pairing of Jiang and Johnson is the fifth-ranked duo in Region III.
Haverford is making its 10th consecutive postseason appearance and 14th trip overall to the conference tournament, in a tournament that has only been held on 15 occasions, proving to be one of the most dominant programs in the conference on a year-in, year-out basis.
The Fords open the postseason on Saturday at 11 a.m. against fellow postseason stalwart and rival No. 28 Swarthmore. The Garnet took a 7-2 win when the two sides met in the regular season last month. That match was shifted indoors as Saturday's forecast may also require. Haverford is no stranger to huge wins this season, however, as the Fords knocked off then-No. 12 Johns Hopkins back on April 2. Haverford earned its first win over Johns Hopkins since the 2006 season, snapping Johns Hopkins' 41-match win streak in CC play and gaining some national attention in the process.
Haverford's 13 victories already this season are the most for the program since the 2019 and 2016 teams also reached that mark. Haverford will look for a landmark 14th win on Saturday, a feat that has only been accomplished once in program history. The Fords are looking to reach the CC title match for the first time since the 2013 season. Top-seeded Johns Hopkins will host that championship match on Sunday with an 11 a.m. start time.
Haverford's projected lineup this weekend will again be paced by the leadership of Jiang at the top flight, as the Tucson, Ariz. product is no stranger to big moments as he has taken down some of the top individuals in the Atlantic South in recent weeks. The senior earned player of the week honors last month after wins against regionally-ranked foes Karl Hoegstedt of Washington College and Ryan Macy of Christopher Newport to guide Haverford to crucial wins.
Wingert (9-6), Danny Loder (10-7), Stefan Johnson (7-5), Adam Chow (8-4), and James McKenzie (9-2) have all been impressive this season while the doubles pairings of Jiang/Johnson (4-5), Jason Edmonds/Justin Minerva (3-4), and Patrick Kley/Chow (7-4) will look to set the tone against the Garnet with some early match victories.
Live stats for fans wishing to follow the entire Centennial Conference Tournament this weekend are available through the links at the top of this article. If play at Swarthmore is shifted indoors, live streaming video will be available as well.
Fords Fans are encouraged to follow @HCFords_Sports on Twitter and @HCFordsSports on Instagram for the latest updates on postseason action.