No. 33 Women’s Tennis Upsets No. 27 Swarthmore, 6-3

Emily Oh and Abhishree Menon

Posted: Apr 17, 2024

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The No. 33 Haverford College women's tennis team (8-5, 5-1 CC) upset Hood Trophy rival No. 27 Swarthmore (7-5, 4-2 CC) by a 6-3 final Wednesday afternoon. The match was moved inside to the Michael Mullan Tennis Center on the campus of Swarthmore College due to rain. The win marks Haverford's first victory over the Garnet since 2018.

Swarthmore got out to an early lead in doubles play, as the team of Oviya Kumaran and Spencer Watts defeated Rachael Fitzgerald and Abhishree Menon 8-1 in flight two, to take a quick 1-0 lead in the match. After the dynamic duo of Abbey Russano and Ellie Esterowitz got past Lola Diaz and Erica Stutz 8-3 to even the match at 1-1, Emily Oh and Mimi Lavin prevailed over Daniela Padron-Casti and Riya Rao on court three, giving the Scarlet and Black a 2-1 lead headed into the all-important singles play.

Singles action started off with Russano again getting the better of Diaz 6-1, 6-3, to extend Haverford's lead to 3-1. In the third flight, Lavin earned her second win of the day after Jenny Lewis was forced to retire in the third set (2-6, 6-0, retired), before Esterowitz notched win number two of the day by taking down Kathleen Shiffer 7-5, 6-0, picking up the clinching fifth point for the Fords.

Swarthmore pulled one point back in flight six after Lara Geib denied Sriya Krishnan in a pro-set, 8-3, before Ella Stricker earned the Garnet's third point of the match by defeating Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-4. The Scarlet and Black collected their sixth and final point of the day after Oh vanquished Stutz 8-6 in a pro-set to wrap up the upset victory, 6-3.

The win for the Fords was Haverford's first victory over Swarthmore since the 2018 season, where the Fords defeated the Garnet 5-1 in the Centennial Conference semifinals.

Women's Tennis is now in the driver's seat for the second seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs entering the final week of the regular season. Haverford will return to the Bettye Marshall and Norman B. Bramall Tennis Courts one final time in the regular season on April 20, as Franklin & Marshall pays a visit to the Fords at 12 p.m.

Before the match, the annual Senior Day ceremony will take place as Haverford will honor Annie Barrett, Mimi Lavin, Emily Oh, Abbey Russano, and Summer Williams for their hard work and dedication over the past four years.