Garnet Grant No Immunity for Diplomats
SWARTHMORE, Pa. --The Swarthmore men's tennis team hit the Cunningham Tennis Courts this afternoon, romping past the visiting Franklin & Marshall Diplomats 9-0. In the last home game of their college careers, the Swarthmore seniors each claimed a win on their senior day to contribute to the Garnet shutout.
The Garnet closed out the regular season with an overall record of 10-6, 8-1 in the Centennial, securing the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Conference playoffs. The Garnet men travel to Baltimore next weekend to play in the Centennial Conference Championships at Johns Hopkins University. With today’s victory, the Garnet men are slated to face No. 3 seed Haverford in the opening round.
The Diplomats close out the regular season just one game from making the playoffs, posting a final record of 8-6 overall and 5-4 in Centennial action.
At No. 1 doubles, Swarthmore freshman Zak Kelm (Shaker Heights, OH / University School) and senior Kevin Shaughnessy (South Kingston, RI / South Kingston) faced off against Diplomats Armen Vartan and Paul Salierno to grab an 8-5 win for the Garnet. Taking on Doug Silverstein and Brad Nelson at No. 2 doubles, sophomore Mark Wee (Syosset, NY, Syosset) and freshman Stephen Youngblood (Norcross, GA) triumphed 9-8 (7-2) in a nail-biting tiebreaker.
In singles play, Youngblood commanded Vartan, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 singles. Shaughnessy secured his second victory of the afternoon, skillfully defeating Silverstein 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2 singles. Kelm, playing at No. 3 singles, delivered a 6-2, 6-2 victory for the Garnet over Nelson. At No. 5 singles, senior JJ England (Palm Beach Gardens, FL / Benjamin School) (right) handed opponent Eric Rouff a 6-3, 6-2 defeat (his fourth consecutive win), and senior Mark Greenburg (Paradise Valley, AZ / Phoenix Country Day) finished off the Garnet shutout at No. 6 singles, with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Josh Calo.