April 26, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's tennis team defeated Washington College 5-0 on Saturday afternoon, setting up a rematch of the 2007 Centennial Conference Championship. The Blue Jays will take on the Haverford Fords, 5-4 winners over Swarthmore in the earlier semifinal. Hopkins improves to 14-5 with the win while Washington slips to 14-3.

Hopkins rolled to a 3-0 lead after doubles, dropping a combined four games in the three matches. Freshman Casey Blythe (Louisville, KY/Saint Xavier) and senior Joe Vasoontara (Bangkok, Thailand/Loomis Chaffee) won 8-1 at first over Todd Green and Andrew Laux. The win for Blythe was his 19th of the season, tying the school single-season record. Seniors Matt Naftilan (Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell Academy) and Rafael Roberti (Summit, NJ/Summit) then beat Michal Switala and Jon Keller 8-2 at third doubles. Sophomore David Maldow (Jericho, NY/Jericho Senior) and freshman Andrew Wang (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) wrapped up doubles with an 8-1 win at second over Adam Cranford and Brian Danver.

Wang pushed Hopkins lead to 4-0 in the match after he beat Laux 6-1, 6-0 at third singles. Roberti then clinched the match for the Blue Jays, winning 6-1, 6-2 at sixth over Timothy Parks. Roberti's two wins today give him 98 combined wins for his career.

Hopkins looks to defend its 2007 title when it takes on Haverford in the Centennial Conference Championship match on Sunday, April 27. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm or approximately one hour following the conclusion of the women's championship match, slated to begin at 11:00 am. In the event of inclement weather, the championship match will be played indoors at the Cross Keys Athletic Club in Baltimore, MD.