BOX SCORE
SWARTHMORE, Pa.–For the fourth consecutive year, the 31st-ranked Swarthmore College men's tennis team advanced to the Centennial Conference final with a 5-1 win over Haverford College on Saturday, May 6.
The Garnet battled in doubles and took a 2-1 lead with wins at second and third.
John Larkin and
Blake Oetting cruised to an 8-3 win at third spot and the second doubles duo of
Ari Cepelewicz and
Thomas Vernier fought for a 9-7 win. At the top spot,
Mark Fallati and
Josh Powell went back and forth with their Haverford counterparts, eventually falling by an 8-9(3) score.
Swarthmore rolled through singles to clinch the match and advance to the championship. Fallati and Larkin had identical 6-2, 6-1 scores at first and second, respectively, while
Simon Vernier wrapped up the match with a 6-1, 6-4 clincher at no. 3.
Michael Song and
Evan Han were each a game away from straight-sets wins and Cepelewicz was up a set with a 2-1 lead in the second.
The Garnet will face the winner of top-seeded Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall on the campus of the highest remaining seed. That match is scheduled for Sunday, May 7 at 11:00 a.m.