HAVERFORD, Pa. - Playing outdoors at home on the Bramall Courts, the Haverford College men's tennis (5-3) team edged TCNJ (7-1), handing the Lions their first loss by a 5-4 final in a thrilling matchup between two of the top programs in the Philadelphia area.
Doubles play began with a classic going the way of TCNJ as Matthew Michibata and Justin Wain got the best of Stefan Johnson and George Giant. The Fords immediately kicked into a higher gear, taking wins at the second and third doubles flights with Jason Edmons and Patrick Kley dispatching the Lions duo of Nick Matkiwsky and Nikola Kilibarda by an 8-5 score. James McKenzie and Jackson Trevor outlasted Derek Jordan and Jacob Quijano in a tiebreak to put Haverford up 2-1 heading into singles play.
In singles, TCNJ's Wain took a win over George Jiang to begin things, but James McKenzie gave the Fords a 3-2 lead with his emphatic decision over Derek Jordan (6-4, 7-6) at the sixth flight. TCNJ again regained tied things as Matkiwsky bested Abhinav Nallapareddy in a second-set tiebreaker, but Stefan Johnson put the Fords on the brink yet again with a momentous three-set victory over Kilbarda (6-4, 5-7, 6-4).
It was Danny Loder who put Haverford over the top with his three-set triumph over Adrian Tsui, grinding out a win after dropping the second set by a 6-4 final, climbing back to turn things around in the third for a 6-2 decision to clinch the overall match. Michibata eclipsed Andrea Wingert in three (4-6, 6-4, 6-4) after the decision had been reached.
In what has become a yearly series between the two sides, the Fords reversed 5-4 decisions from each of the past two seasons. The Fords came on top in the battle last in 2018 as the two sides have met every season dating back to the 2015-16 campaign. In total, Haverford is 5-28 in the all-time series, but with three wins in the last eight matchups.
Haverford will now return to action with Centennial Conference play on the horizon. A Saturday matchup at home against No. 12 Johns Hopkins (12 p.m.) will open up the Centennial slate, the first of two consecutive ranked matchups as Haverford also does battle with No. 29 Swarthmore on April 6.