Men’s Tennis: #20 Garnet Advance in NCAAs
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Swarthmore senior Zac Rodd, ranked fifth in the Atlantic South region, defeated Mary Washington senior Paul Bristow, ranked second in the region, at No. 1 singles to send the 20th-ranked Garnet to a 4-2 victory over the seventh-ranked Eagles in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championships on Sunday afternoon.
The Garnet avenged a 6-1 loss to the Eagles on April 2 and, more importantly, a 4-1 home loss to MWU in the second round of last year's NCAA Championship.
Swarthmore (8-10) advances to the NCAA National Championship quarterfinals on May 17 to be held at the University of Mary Washington. It is the first quarterfinal appearance by the Garnet since the brackets were expanded in the early 1990s, the last coming in 1991. Opponents and match times will be announced this week.
The Garnet won the doubles' point in spectacular fashion, winning at No. 1 and No.2 with ease. Swarthmore's top duo, Rodd and classmate Brian Park defeated UMW's Bristow and Randy Loden, the top-ranked tandem in the region and All-Americans in 2004-05, by a score of 8-3. Garnet junior Jon Reiss and sophomore Jon Lo also took care of business in doubles' play, defeating UMW's John James and Jon Pollak 8-2. The third doubles' match was suspended, per NCAA procedure.
Swarthmore took a 2-0 lead following Lo's 7-5, 6-3 win over Loden at No. 4 singles but the Eagles tied the match with victories at No. 5 and No. 6.
The Garnet seniors, Park and Rodd, were both down a set at No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, and simultaneously rallied back to send the Garnet into the NCAA quarterfinals. Park came back to defeat James 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 while Rodd fought back against Bristow, an All American at singles in 2004-05, to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. It is the second time this season Rodd has taken down Bristow, the Swarthmore senior defeated the Eagles' 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the 2005 ITA Southeast Regional on October 3.
Doubles
1. Rodd/Park def. Bristow/Loden (UMW) 8-3
2. Reiss/Lo def. James/Pollak (UMW) 8-2
3. Sidhu/Kevin Shaughnessy vs. Armes/Clair (UMW) DNF
Singles
1. Zac Rodd (SC) def. Paul Bristow (UMW) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
2. Jon Reiss (SC) vs. Jon Clair (UMW) DNF
3. Brian Park (SC) def. John James (UMW) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Jonathan Lo (SC) def. Randy Loden (UMW) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jason Dunn (UMW) vs. Adam Wallwork (SC) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
6. Chris Armes (UMW) def. Sam Sidhu (SC) 6-4, 7-5