April 27, 2002
Haverford, PA -
Freshman Vandna Jerath (Augusta, GA/Augusta Prep) upset fourth-seeded Gena Ross of Muhlenberg 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 as the Blue Jays competed in the first day of the Centennial Conference Tennis Championships on the campus of Haverford College.
Jerath, who improved to 11-1 this season, advances to play Franklin & Marshall's Alissa Leone in the women's singles round of 16 on Saturday. Jerath will be joined in the round by senior Emily Petersen (Cedar Rapids, IA/Linn-Mar), who topped Western Maryland's Geneve Kaolins 6-0, 6-0. Petersen, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, will face Dickinson's Tania Leach on Saturday. Sophomore Lauren Shevchik (Murrysville, PA/Greensburg Central), the other JHU women's singles player in the tournament, was eliminated in the first round by Julie Chalfant of Dickinson 6-0, 6-1.
In men's singles action, sophomore Justin Chan (Mountain Lakes, NJ/Mountain Lakes) advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Muhlenberg's Brian Barkauska 6-2, 6-1. Chan, who will face Andrew Law of Haverford on Saturday, is joined in the second round by junior Kevin Alford (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township), who is the No. 2 seed in the draw and received a bye on Friday. Alford will face Muhlenberg's Jeff Kraft on Saturday. Senior Sion Roy (Chandler, AZ/Brophy College Prep) fell in his first round match to Steve Wilkes of Ursinus, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
The doubles tournaments are down to the quarterfinal rounds, and the Blue Jays have two teams remaining on the men's side. Alford and freshman
Justin Belisario (Los Angeles, CA/Loyola), the top seed in the draw, defeated Franklin & Marshall's Alex Chester and Alex Sanchez 8-1 to advance to the round of eight, while senior
Erhan Bedestani (Hamilton, NJ/Lawrenceville Prep) and senior
Ashish Lall (Buffalo, NY/Nichols) defeated Muhlenberg's Kraft and Cameron Parke 8-3. Alford and Belisario will face Chris Fox and Bob Gray of Ursinus on Saturday, while Bedestani and Lall will play two-seeded Rafael Martins and Peter Taylor of Washington.
In women's doubles action, fourth-seeded Petersen and Shevchik were eliminated in the round of 16 by Leone and Alissa Rudolph of Franklin & Marshall 8-3, while earlier sophomore Liz Crowe (Wilmington, DE/Alexis I. duPont) and sophomore Cara Loeys (Cobham Surrey, England/American Community School) fell in the first round to Sarah Niebler and Megan Schreiber of Muhlenberg 8-5.
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