Championship Central
Top seeds Swarthmore and Haverford will meet for the Centennial Conference men's tennis championship for the second straight season after both posting semifinal victories on Friday afternoon.
In Swarthmore, Pa., the top-seeded and seventh-ranked Garnet advanced to their 11th-straight CC championship with a 4-0 triumph over Washington College on Friday. The Garnet will look to capture their fourth-straight conference championship against Haverford College on Sunday.
The Garnet claimed the doubles point with wins in the second and third positions. Swarthmore then went on to clinch the match with singles victories from Michael Melnikov, Andres Fente and Dylan Hayes Gilbert. Fente was a multiple-time winner with victories at second doubles and fifth singles.
In Haverford, Pa., second-seeded Haverford advanced to its second straight championship match with a 4–1 victory over the third-seeded Franklin & Marshall at the Bramall Tennis Courts.
With just one doubles point on the line, Franklin & Marshall claimed the early advantage, taking courts one and three. At No. 1 doubles, Zac Ashtiani and Luke Brodsky defeated Marko Arboleda and Robbie Vazquez, 6-3. The Fords responded on court two, where Teo Bortan and Niki Lavu earned a 6–3 victory over Soren Rudin-Aulenbach and Gonzalo Gentou to even the doubles matches. The Diplomats ultimately secured the point on court three, as Tucker Chesman and Nate Arnold edged Caden Hsia and Stefan Johnson, 7-6 (4) to take a 1–0 lead into singles play.
Haverford quickly turned the momentum around in singles, beginning on court two as Arboleda defeated Brodsky, 6–4, 6–4, to level the match score at 1–1. Bortan followed on court four with a 6–3, 6–2 win over Rudin-Aulenbach, giving the Fords a 2–1 advantage. Lavu then put Haverford one point away from the clinch with a 6–2, 6–3 victory over Ashtiani at No. 1 singles.
Vazquez then secured the decisive fourth point on court five, battling past Gentou in three sets, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4, to clinch the 4–1 victory for the Fords. The remaining matches at No. 3 (Johnson vs. Samuel Donnelly) and No. 6 (Hsia vs. Arnold) were left unfinished due to the Centennial Conference postseason clinch rule.
SEMIFINALS: Friday, May 1 | at #1 & #2 seeds
#1 Swarthmore d. #4 Washington College, 4-0 | Box Score
#2 Haverford d. #3 Franklin & Marshall, 4-1 | Box Score
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday May 3 | Swarthmore, Pa.
#2 Haverford at #1 Swarthmore, 1 p.m.
