HAVERFORD, Pa. – Facing one of the nation's top teams in the home opener on Saturday afternoon, The Haverford men's tennis team (1-2), receiving votes in the ITA preseason rankings,  put together a gritty performance against No. 5 Denison (5-1) on Saturday at Alumni Field House, ultimately falling 6-1 to the Big Red. 

The Fords showed resilience throughout, highlighted by a dominant win from Justin Minerva at No. 6 singles. Minerva controlled the match from the outset, cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Denison's Kyle Patrick to put Haverford on the board.

Elsewhere in singles action, Haverford stood toe-to-toe with Denison's nationally ranked lineup. Marko Arboleda pushed the nation's sixth-ranked individual player Kael Shah in a competitive 6-4, 6-4 battle at the top flight, while Niki Lavu fought through a tiebreak in the first set at the fourth flight before narrowly falling 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to Ryan Patrick. Chait Krishna also put up a strong fight at No. 5, dropping a tight 6-4, 6-4 contest to Anthony Payiavlas. 

Denison (5-1) took the early lead by sweeping the doubles point, but the Fords made the Big Red work for it. The No. 3 duo of Zach Miano and Teo Bortan kept things close before falling 6-4, while James McKenzie and Minerva put up a major fight at No. 1 against the nation's No. 2-ranked tandem in Shah and Ethan Green. 

Despite the final result, Haverford's effort against one of the nation's elite teams serves as a solid checkpoint as the team embarks on the remainder of non-conference play. Haverford returns to action on March 10 for the annual spring break trip. The Fords will battle Hope International in Fullerton, California, the first of five matches in the Golden State, with action slated for 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET.