Women's Tennis Picked Third in CC Preseason Poll

Posted: Feb 16, 2023

HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's tennis program has been picked to finish third in the Centennial Conference preseason poll, the conference office announced ina release on Thursday morning. Conference coachecs were not allowed to rank their own programs in the annual prognostication.

Swarthmore was projected to finish second with 71 points and the remaining first-place vote. Haverford was picked third with 66 points, two more than a season ago, while Washington College (54), Franklin & Marshall (51) and Ursinus (37) were also predicted to make it in the CC postseason in fourth through sixth, respectively. Gettysburg earned the seventh spot in the ranks with 34 points followed by Dickinson (29), Bryn Mawr (15) and Muhlenberg (12).

The Fords are sitting just outside of the national rankings to start 2023 as they are the highest ranked team in the Atlantic South region not to be ranked in the national poll. Haverford is the second-highest ranked team among its Centennial Conference peers as Johns Hopkins (No. 7 region, No. 25 nationally) and Swarthmore (No. 8 region, No. 29 nationally) are also ranked in the first poll of the spring season.

Haverford appeared in the national rankings twice during the 2021-22 season, as Haverford posted the highest national ranking in program history (35th) during the previous campaign. Women's Tennis finished the season 12-7 overall, including a 7-2 record in Centennial Conference action. The Fords went 4-2 at home, 4-2 on the road, and 4-3 at neutral sites in a well-rounded season.

Abbey Russano played No. 1 singles and doubles for Haverford this spring, earning first-team All-Centennial Conference in singles and second-team honors in doubles. The Bridgewater, N.J. product went 13-6 in singles this season, including a 6-2 mark in CC play and a 6-1 mark at the top flight. Russano was the first Haverford player to earn individual qualification to the national singles tournament since Amanda Figland in 1988.

The newly-expanded six-team CC Tournament is set for a week earlier than normal, Apr. 26-28-30 with the higher seeds hosting each round. The Fords will open the 2022-23 campaign with the Spring Break Trip to the Central Florida area, taking on RPI to begin play on Monday, March 6. The conference opener is slated for March 25 against Muhlenberg at home (11 a.m.).