STEVENSON, Md. -Â Â The Haverford College men's tennis team (9-12) wrapped up the regular season against No. 7 Johns Hopkins (13-5), falling 6-1 as the Fords claimed the doubles point before the hosts responded with six consecutive singles wins in a matchup played at Stevenson University.
Haverford opened the match with momentum, securing the doubles point by winning two of three flights. The No. 3 pairing of Caden Hsia and Stefan Johnson fell early, 6-2, to Dylan Blenkiron and Brian Yi, but the Fords responded with back-to-back wins at the top of the lineup. At No. 2 doubles, Teo Bortan and Niki Lavu delivered a commanding 6-2 win over Mukundh Boopathi and Pranav Gadiraju.
The doubles point was clinched at No. 1, where Marko Arboleda and Robbie Vazquez battled to a 6-4 victory over Johns Hopkins' nationally ranked pairing, No. 13. Allen Gong and Chakor Rajendra, the Atlantic South's top duo.
Transitioning to singles play, the nationally ranked Blue Jays showed their depth by sweeping all six flights to secure the match victory.
Following the doubles session, singles play began at No. 3, where Rajendra evened the match score by defeating Bortan 6-0, 6-2. At No. 2, Blenkiron gave Johns Hopkins the lead with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Arboleda.
The momentum continued at the top flight, as No. 14-ranked Gong defeated Lavu 6-1, 6-3. Joshua Kim followed with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 win over Hsia at No. 6 singles, while Boopathi outlasted Vazquez at No. 5 in a three-set battle, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The afternoon concluded at No. 4, where Johnson pushed Jason Li in both sets before narrowly falling 7-5, 7-5.
Looking ahead, the Fords have clinched the No. 2 seed in next week's Centennial Conference Men's Tennis Championship and will host a semifinal against No. 3 seed Franklin & Marshall on Friday, May 1 at the Bramall Tennis Courts. Match time is to be determined.
