May 1, 2009
Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD - Host Johns Hopkins shut out Washington College, 5-0, on Friday morning in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament. The win propels the Blue Jays into their fourth straight conference championship match as they are seeking their third straight title. Hopkins wins its 13th straight match to improve to 14-3 on the season while Washington College ends its season at 11-8.
Hopkins took control early by sweeping all three doubles matches to lead 3-0. Junior David Maldow (Jericho, NY/Jericho) and sophomore Andrew Wang (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) won their seventh straight match and improved to 16-6 on the season with an 8-0 win at first over Brian Danver and Aaron Ellison. The win for Maldow was the 107th of his career, breaking the program record for wins held by Joe Vasoontara '08. Freshman Jacob Barnaby (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Vista) and sophomore Casey Blythe (Louisville, KY/Saint Xavier) then pushed the Blue Jays lead to 2-0 at second with an 8-4 over Michal Switala and Brian Cedrowski. It is their eighth straight win and team-best 17th of the season. Freshman Warren Elgort (New York, NY/Trinity School) and sophomore Ryan Rauck (Columbus, OH/Bexley) closed out doubles play with an 8-4 win, their seventh straight, at third over Adam Cranford and Todd Green.
Elgort gave Hopkins a 4-0 lead in the match with a straight sets win at third. He beat Cedrowski, 6-0, 6-2 to improve to 17-7 on the season. Wang then clinched the match for the top seed with a straight sets win at second. He did not drop a game in his win over Ellison, his 15th straight and team-best 20th of the season. Wang, who went 20-7 in 2008, is the first player in program history with back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Hopkins advances to Sunday's championship match and will play the winner of Friday afternoon's Swarthmore-Haverford semifinal. That match is scheduled for 3:00 pm at Swarthmore. Hopkins is the only team in the four-year history of the tournament to play in every championship match. The championship match is scheduled for 11:00 am at Johns Hopkins. In the event of inclement weather, the match will be moved indoors to the Perring Athletic Club (7501 Oakleigh Road, Parkville, MD 21234).
