Oct. 6, 2008
Box Score
FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Johns Hopkins men's tennis team wrapped up the fall portion of its schedule with a huge finish at the 2008 ITA Southeast Regional Championships. Junior David Maldow (Jericho, NY/Jericho) and sophomore Andrew Wang (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) won the doubles title, the first ever ITA regional championship in program history. In addition, Hopkins players won or were in the finals of the championship singles draw, the B1 and B2 singles and the B1 doubles draws.
Maldow and Wang earn All-America honors and advance to the ITA National Small College Championships. The pair, seeded fifth, won five matches en route to the title. They opened with an 8-6 win over Jeremy Becht and Jonathan Gaffney of Washington & Lee. In the second round, they beat Yiran Liu and Jon Spero of Carnegie Mellon 8-4. Maldow and Wang then beat third-seeded Scott Burtzlaff and Evan Thomas (Salisbury) 8-4 to advance to the championship match, where they squared off against teammates, sophomore Casey Blythe (Louisville, KY/Saint Xavier) and freshman Jacob Barnaby (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Vista).
Blythe and Barnaby, seeded fourth, opened the tournament with back-to-back 8-2 wins in the first and second rounds. In the quarterfinals, the pair beat Daniel Barnas and Andrew Nottage (Salisbury) 8-4. In the semifinals, they beat Alex Buxbaum and Tom Kinrade (Haverford) 9-7 to advance to the finals. Also competing in the championship draw, were juniors Dan Myers (Chattanooga, TN/Collegiate School) and Peter Vale (Haverford, PA/Episcopal Academy). The pair won their first round match, over Ricky Connor and Dylan Young (Christopher Newport). They lost in the second round, 8-5 to Burtzlaff and Thomas.
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In the championship singles draw, Maldow advanced to the finals for the second time in his career. Four of his five wins en route to the championship match came in straight sets. In the semifinals, he rallied after losing the first set 6-2 to win 6-4, 6-0 over Eric Shulman (Christopher Newport). Maldow then fell in the finals to fourth-seeded James Muliawan (Carnegie Mellon) 7-6 (3), 6-4. Maldow now has 47 career singles wins, moving him into a tie for second in JHU history and just six shy of the program record. Wang advanced to the semifinals after making it to the round of 16 as a freshman. All of his wins came in straight sets. He lost in the semis to Muliawan, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Blythe and freshman Warren Elgort (New York, NY/Trinity School) each went 2-1 in the championship draw to advance to the round of 16. Vale won his first round match in three sets before falling in the second to #1 seed John James of Mary Washington (7-5, 7-6 [7-4]).
In the B1 singles draw, sophomore Jake Schneiders (Englewood, CO/Cherry Creek) and freshman Michael Chang (Winston Salem, NC/Forsyth County Day School) will face off in the championship match. Each won their first three matches to advance to the finals. Sophomore Ryan Rauck (Columbus, OH/Bexley) won his first match in three sets before falling in the second round in three. In the B2 singles draw, senior Tripp Weber (Blue Bell, PA/Germantown Academy) won all four of his matches, all in straight sets, to win the draw. Freshman Clayton Branche (McLean, VA/Langley) went 1-1 in the draw.
In the B1 doubles draw final, it will be another match-up of Blue Jay teammates. Elgort and Schneiders will face off against Weber and freshman Orlando Ferrer (Naples, FL/Bradenton Preparatory Academy) for the title. Each pair won three matches to advance to the championship match. Also in the draw were Chang and Rauck. The pair won their first match 8-3 before falling 9-8 (3) in the quarterfinals.
Maldow and Wang move on to the ITA National Small College Championships at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, AL. The championships are set for Oct. 16-19, 2008.
