FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Apr. 30 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#3 Swarthmore d. #6 Washington College, 5-0
#4 Franklin & Marshall d. #5 Gettysburg, 5-0
SEMIFINALS: Thursday, May 2 | at #1 & #2 seeds
#3 Swarthmore at #2 Haverford, 4 p.m.
#4 Franklin & Marshall at #1 Johns Hopkins, 6:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, May 4 | at highest remaining seed
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
HAVERFORD, Pa. - The second-seeded No. 31 Haverford College women's tennis team (10-5) hosts third-seeded No. 32 Swarthmore (11-5) in CC tournament semifinal action at the Bramall and Marshall Courts on the Haverford campus Thursday afternoon.
Fords in the ITA Rankings
In the ITA national rankings, Haverford checks in as the No. 31 team in the nation, the second-ranked team out of the Centennial Conference behind just No. 7 Johns Hopkins. In the Atlantic South regional rankings, Haverford is slotted eighth behind Emory, Johns Hopkins, Washington & Lee, Carnegie Mellon, Christopher Newport, Sewanee and Mary Washington. The pairing of Abbey Russano and Esterowitz is 23rd in the nation and the eighth-ranked doubles pairing among Atlantic South teams.
Fords in the NCAA Rankings
In the NCAA Regional Rankings, which differ from the ITA rankings but ultimately contribute to selection criteria for the NCAA tournament, Haverford is the second-ranked team in Region III, behind only Johns Hopkins but ahead of Swarthmore, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Stevens, and Washington College.
Russano checks in as the third-ranked singles player in Region III, behind Mary Beth Hurley and Sophia Kim of Johns Hopkins. Esterowitz is also listed as in consideration. The doubles team of Esterowitz and Russano is also the top-ranked pairing in Region III. The pairing of Esterowitz and Russano has been nearly unstoppable this season, settling into the tune of a 14-3 overall record, including an 11-2 mark in the dual match season. The pair is 8-2 over its last 10 appearances and a perfect 6-0 in CC play.
Haverford Projected Lineup
Doubles (2024 Record)
1. Abbey Russano/Ellie Esterowitz (14-3)
2. Rachael Fitzgerald/Abhi Menon (2-2)
3. Mimi Lavin/Emily Oh (4-6)
Singles (2024 Record)
1. Abbey Russano (9-5)
2. Ellie Esterowitz (11-5)
3. Mimi Lavin (14-3)
4. Rachael Fitzgerald (5-9)
5. Emily Oh (14-3)
6. Sriya Krishnan (7-3)
Swarthmore Projected Lineup
Doubles (2024 Record)
1. Erica Stutz/Nathalie Williams (6-5)
2. Oviya Kumaran/ Spencer Watts (9-3)
3. Lola Diaz/ Kathleen Shiffer (2-1)
Singles (2024 Record)
1. Lola Diaz (10-7)
2. Nathalie Williams (5-3)
3. Kathleen Shiffer (9-8)
4. Ella Strickler (6-3)
5. Jenny Lewis (5-4)
6. Oviya Kumaran (9-5)
The Regular Season Matchup
Then-No. 33 Haverford took down then-No. 27 Swarthmore by a 6-3 final inside the Michael Mullan Tennis Center back on April 17. 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. With the victory, the Fords took the inside track towards the eventual second seed in the CC tourney.
We Meet Again
Haverford and Swarthmore are meeting in the Centennial Conference semifinal for the fifth consecutive season. The Fords have advanced to the final in one of those matchups, in 2018, as the Fords took down the Garnet in Swarthmore by a 5-1 final score to advance to the Championship against Johns Hopkins.
Follow the Fords
Haverford fans wishing to follow Haverford throughout postseason action should bookmark the Centennial Conference Digital Network and be sure to follow @HCFords_Sports on Twitter and @HCFordsSports on Instagram.
Next Up
The winner of the Haverford - Swarthmore semifinal will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal between top-seeded Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall at the site of the highest remaining seed.