No. 2 Garnet Tennis Blanks No. 3 F&M 5-0, Reaches Second-Consecutive Centennial Championship
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - A sweep of doubles play and singles wins from sophomore Zak Kelm at No. 2 and freshman James Wieler at No. 6 was enough to send the Swarthmore College men's tennis team (10-9) to the Centennial Conference Championship match for the second-straight season, as Swat defeated Franklin & Marshall 5-0 in the Centennial semifinals on Saturday afternoon from the Faulkner Courts.
The No.2 Garnet will now square off with top-seed Johns Hopkins in a rematch of the 2009 final from Baltimore. Action is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Wieler won at No. 6 singles to clinch the match for the Garnet.
Swat wasted no time with the Diplomats - who they defeated 6-3 last Saturday in Lancaster, sweeping doubles to take a 3-0 lead. The All-Centennial duo of sophomore Stephen Youngblood and Kelm took No. 1 doubles 8-6, junior Mark Wee and sophomore Max Bressman cruised at No. 2 8-1, while the freshman duo of Malik Mubeen and James Wieler won 8-5 at No. 3.
With the early cushion, Swat ended the playoff match early by claiming the first two signles results. Kelm finished first at No. 2 singles, taking F&M's Doug Silverstein (F&M) 6-2, 6-4, while Wieler ended the match at No. 6 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Peter Bookman
Swarthmore will be seeking its first Centennial Conference championship (it joined the Conference in 2008) and first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2007.