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Centennial Conference Athletics

Garnet Ends Hop Win Streak

Garnet Ends Hop Win Streak
Posted: Apr 02, 2016

Josh Powell, Swarthmore
 

BOX SCORE

SWARTHMORE, Pa.–The Swarthmore College men's tennis team (6-5, 2-0 CC) earned its second straight win over a nationally-ranked opponent as it edged out No. 21 Johns Hopkins (5-2, 1-1 CC) by a 5-4 margin on Saturday, April 2.

The Garnet handed the Blue Jays their first Centennial Conference loss in nearly 10 years, snapping an 84-match streak that dated back to April 20, 2006. It was also Swarthmore's first win over Hopkins since a 6-1 home victory on March 17, 2006.

The no. 3 doubles team of John Larkin and Blake Oetting earned the first point for the Garnet with an 8-5 victory over Justin Kang and Scott Thygesen. Ari Cepelewicz and Simon Vernier fought hard, but fell 5-8 at no. 2 doubles and the regionally-ranked team of Mark Fallati and Josh Powell came up just a hair short in a narrow, 8-9(6) defeat in the first doubles spot. In that match, both sides held serve until the fourth point of the tiebreaker.

The Garnet rebounded by taking the first three singles courts. Fallati beat Mike Buxbaum, 6-4, 6-4 at the no. 1 spot and Larkin also triumphed in straight sets with a 7-5, 6-3 result. At no. 3 singles, Cepelewicz battled Thygesen and emerged with a 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-5 win.

Vernier and James Hahn both suffered close losses, but Swarthmore won the day as Powell grinded out a 6-3, 7-6(5) triumph at the no. 6 spot.  Trailing 1-2 in the tiebreaker, Powell earned a decisive break as he won four of the next five points and closed out the match on his service.

Notes about The Streak

  • Second-longest win streak in Centennial history. Only Washington College (1994-2005) had more consecutive Conference wins (90).
  • Blue Jays ended that streak on April 2, 2005 with 4-3 victory over Shoremen in Baltimore - 11 years to the day that the 84-match run ended.
  • Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore's Classes of 2006 are now in their 30s.
  • Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore's Classes of 2016 were looking forward to middle school in April, 2006.
  • #1 song in country was "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter
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