April 29, 2007
Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD - The #13 Johns Hopkins men's tennis team claimed its second Centennial Conference title in three years on Sunday. Hopkins defeated Haverford 5-1 to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Blue Jays improve to 17-2 on the season and have won 13 consecutive matches. The Fords fall to 13-4 on the season.
Hopkins took control early, winning all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead in the match. Juniors Rafael Roberti (Summit, NJ/Summit) and Matt Naftilan (Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell Academy) grabbed the first point for the Blue Jays with an 8-4 win over Marc Rudolph and Evan Stiegel at third. Freshmen David Maldow (Jericho, NY/Jericho Senior) and Dan Myers (Chattanooga, TN/Collegiate School) then made it 2-0 Hopkins with an 8-2 win at second. Senior Hillen Smith (Baltimore, MD/Boys Latin) and junior Joe Vasoontara (Bangkok, Thailand/Loomis Chaffee) wrapped up the doubles with an 8-4 at first over Alex Buxbaum and Thomas Kinrade.
Stiegel cut the Blue Jays lead to 3-1 when he beat Myers 6-2 6-1 at fourth singles. Sophomore Larry Wei (Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) then made it 4-1 for Hopkins, beating Elmar Trust 6-2, 7-5 at third singles. Junior Joe Vasoontara (Bangkok, Thailand/Loomis Chaffee) clinched the match for Hopkins with his win at second over Kinrade. Vasoontara won the first 6-1 and rallied from 5-2 down in the second to win 7-6 (10-8).
The NCAA will release the team bracket for the 2007 championships on Monday at www.ncaasports.com. Selections for the individual championships will also be announced Monday. Hopkins went to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 2006, falling to Mary Washington in the first round.
