#26 Swarthmore Upsets #11 Eagles
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The 26th ranked Garnet (2-10) upset 11th-ranked Mary Washington (16-7) Saturday afternoon on Faulkner Courts, grounding the Eagles with a 6-3 score. Jonathan Lo '08, Kevin Shaughnessy '09, and Brian Nalitt '10 went home with hard earned victories in both their doubles and singles matches.
Today's contest was a rematch of the second round of the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championship, in which the Garnet took down the Eagles, 4-2.
Playing at No.1 singles, senior Jon Reiss, ranked tenth in the Atlantic South region, not only had to compete against second-ranked John James, but he had to battle on-going back pain and cramps. Although he put forth a valiant effort, he was unable to take down James in the third set, falling 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
At No.2 singles, Lo rallied back from an early deficit to take the first set 7-5. But Mary Washington's Randy Loden used cross court shots to wear Lo down in the second set (3-6), forcing a third set. Lo gathered enough momentum to take the third set with a decisive 6-2 win. He and partner Reiss defeated Loden and Zach Detwiler earlier at the No. 1 doubles spot, 8-5.
Like Lo, Nalitt and Willy Nolan '10 were forced to overcome an early deficit in order to win their matches. Nalitt defeated Jason Dunn 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 3; and Nolan beat Evan Goff 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4.
Nalitt and Shaughnessy won at No.2 doubles, 8-5. Shaughnessy, the only player to defeat his opponent in consecutive sets, took care of business at the No.5 singles spot, winning 6-4, 6-3.
Swarthmore will host Salisbury State tomorrow afternoon. The match begins at 2:00 p.m. and, due to severe rain in the forecast, will most likely be played in the Michael Mullan Tennis Center.