SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 7 Swarthmore College men's tennis team captured its fourth consecutive Centennial Conference title on Sunday afternoon, defeating Haverford College by a 4-0 score.
With the victory, the Garnet earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Swarthmore will compete in the national tournament for the fourth year in a row.
Andres Fente secured the clinching point at fifth singles and was named the Centennial Tournament Most Valuable Player. He went a perfect 4-0 across the Garnet's two postseason matches. Fente conceded just six total games in his four sets of singles play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Fente and
Kai Chen got Swarthmore off to a fast start with a 6-0 shutout at second doubles. However, the Fords answered with a 6-3 triumph at the top spot and the point came down to third doubles.
Max Lindstrom and
Winston Zhang found themselves down 4-1 but the duo stormed back to take five straight games and the victory for the Garnet, 6-4.
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Michael Melnikov started strong at first singles, winning his opening set 6-0. He continued his solid play in the second, earning a 6-3 victory to put Swarthmore ahead 2-0. The win marked the 100
th of his singles career for the Garnet's all-time leader. It was also Melnikov's 32
nd singles triumph of the season, setting a new Centennial Conference record.
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Dylan Hayes Gilbert had little trouble defeating his opponent at sixth singles, 6-2, 6-1. Fente then clinched the championship for Swarthmore with a 6-3, 6-1 decision at the fifth flight. Lindstrom,
Rishi Verma, and
Nikola Galov were all leading their respective matches when play came to an end.
UP NEXT
The Garnet (20-6) find out their NCAA Tournament path during the selection show on Monday at 12:30 p.m.
