May 6, 2006
FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Johns Hopkins men's tennis team visited Mary Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon. The teams had met just nine days ago, in the Jays final regular season match. The Eagles prevailed in that match 7-0. Hopkins could not overcome the home team, ranked seventh in the nation on Saturday, falling 4-1. The match was played to decision, with the first team earning four points taking the win.
Mary Washington opened the match with wins at first and second doubles. The third doubles match was not completed, with the Eagles up 7-3. Sophomore Joe Vasoontara (Bangok, Thailand/Loomis Chaffee) and junior Hillen Smith (Baltimore, MD/Boys Latin) who are ranked #8 in the region, fell to the #1 ranked team at first doubles. Paul Bristow and Randy Loden won 8-2 for Mary Washington. John James and Jon Pollak defeated sophomore Rafi Roberti (Summit, NJ/Summit) and junior Nick Kennedy (Tucson, AZ/Deerfield Academy) 8-3.
In singles play, the Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the match with a win at fourth singles. Loden won in straight sets over sophomore Kevin Ma (Parkville, MO/Park Hill South) 6-2, 6-1. Hopkins then trimmed the lead to 2-1 when Vasoontara won at first singles. Ranked #19 in the region, he beat Bristow in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. Bristow is ranked #1 in the region. Mary Washington then closed out the match with wins at second and sixth singles. Chris Armes beat Kennedy at sixth singles, winning 6-1, 7-5 to give the Eagles a three-point margin in the match. Jon Clair, ranked #7 in the region, won in three sets over Smith. Smith won the first set 6-4, but Clair came back winning the second (6-1) and the third (6-3) to close out the match for Mary Washington.
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Hopkins closes out the 2005-2006 campaign with a 10-9 record. After a slow start, the Blue Jays won eight of their last 12 matches, including a win over #7 Haverford in the Centennial Conference Semifinals. That win solidified Hopkins' bid to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.
