Blue Jays End Garnet Streak
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The 19th-ranked Swarthmore women's tennis team lost for just the second time in their last 47 Centennial regular season matches, falling to Johns Hopkins 5-4 at the Faulkner Courts Tuesday afternoon. Jennie Park '09 took home wins in both her doubles and singles match.
Swarthmore (4-3 overall, 2-1 CC), winners of three of the last four Centennial Championships, saw its current streak of 31 Conference wins a row come to an end. The last time the Garnet were defeated in Centennial action came on March 17, 2004 at Muhlenberg College—a 5-4 setback.
The afternoon began with heated doubles action in the No. 1 pairing. After a 3-4 deficit, the doubles team of seniors Sara Sargent and Sonya Reynolds (the second-ranked pair in Atlantic South region), came back to take the lead. To win the tenth game, Sargent and Reynolds both charged the net, and their opponents instinctively retreated towards the baseline. Before the Lady Jays could find their footing, Sargent smashed a baseline volley to increase their lead to 6-4. But today was not their day as the Swarthmore pair fell 9-7 to Hopkins' Brittany Matava and Anita Bhamidipati.
At No. 2 singles, the #18-ranked duo in the Atlantic South region of Park and Erica Lukoski '08 trumped Becky Busch and Amanda Schubert from Hopkins 8-1. The No. 3 doubles pair of Rachel Wallwork '10 and Marissa Matthews '07 ousted their opponents 8-3 as Swarthmore grabbed an early 2-1 lead.
Playing at No.1 singles as late replacement for an injured Reyonlds, Park battled past Hopkins' Brittany Matava, who beat her last season by a score of 6-3, 6-3. The end of the three set match was well worth the wait. After Park etched in a first set win (7-5), Matava took the second set 6-1. Moments later, Park returned the sentiment, decisively taking the third set by a score of 6-1.
Sargent's victory over JHU's Tanya Gulnik was just as impressive. Winning 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4, she was the only Garnet player to win her match in consecutive sets.
The Garnet continue conference play on Sunday, April 1, traveling to Maryland to play Washington College at 1:00 pm.