Garnet Men To Take on Centennial Tennis Slate
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- After more than 23 years of being independent, the Swarthmore College Garnet men's tennis team will join the Centennial Conference in the spring of 2008.
“Head Coach Mike Mullan and I believe that the many recent enhancements to Centennial Conference tennis promise to provide a valuable experience for the student-athletes, and we look forward to competing with our Centennial colleagues in the years to come,” said Adam Hertz, Director of Athletics at Swarthmore. “ One of the goals for Swarthmore College athletics has been 100 percent participation in Centennial Conference sponsored sports. The inclusion of our men’s tennis team will accomplish that goal.”
The Swarthmore men have fielded one of the most successful tennis programs in Division III with 52 All-America selections, the most recent selection coming last season (Jon Reiss ’07).
The Garnet are a perennial participant in the Division III NCAA Tournament, having qualified for the NCAA Tournament 30 of the last 31 years while winning four national championships (1977, ‘81, ‘85, ‘90). Swarthmore has made 10 NCAA semifinals and as recent as 2006, reached the NCAA quarterfinals.
Before leaving the Middle Atlantic Conference to become independent, the Garnet made their mark, winning the conference championship 19 times from 1964-84.
Three of the Centennial Conference teams, including 2007 Conference champion Johns Hopkins (ranked 11th), Haverford and Washington (Md.) already square off against Swarthmore on a yearly basis. The Garnet will add matches with Centennial members Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, McDaniel, Muhlenberg and Ursinus.
Swarthmore’s 2007-08 schedule, annually one of the toughest in Division III, includes Division-II University of California-Davis and Sonoma State, as well as 2007 national champion UC-Santa Cruz.
The Garnet, led by legendary head coach Mullan, hosted the Division III NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional in 2007. Swarthmore defeated 25th-ranked College of New Jersey 5-0 in the second round before falling to eventual-finalist Emory in the regional final. Mullan, the leader of the Garnet men’s tennis program for the last 29 seasons, was named the 1986 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year. He has led the Garnet to 28 appearances at the NCAA Division III National Championships, including three national titles, and the indoor tennis facility on campus is named in his honor.
This fall, Swarthmore hosted the Swarthmore Invitational and participated in the ITA Regionals, earning a #7 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic region according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll (released Nov. 6, 2007). The Garnet will be under the direction of interim head coach Jason Box (Sewanee ’06) this spring while Mullan is on sabbatical leave.
Garnet tennis has already seen success in Centennial competition. The Swarthmore women’s team owns five Conference championships (1995, 2001, ’03, ’05, ’06) and put together a winning streak of 47 consecutive Centennial victories.