Playoff-Bound Gophers Knock Off Royals, 8-1

SCRANTON, Pa. — Goucher had already this season crossed Drew, Moravian and Catholic off the list of Landmark Conference opponents which it had not beaten since the conference began intercollegiate competition in 2007-08 and today head coach Brendan Kincaid's squad had a shot at removing Scranton.

The Gophers, who had already been tagged as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference championship tournament prior to today's match, did indeed bounce back from a 7-2 loss to Juniata only 24 hours ago to pin an 8-1 setback on the Royals.

Goucher, as it had done six other times this season, bolted out to a 3-0 lead with a sweep of the doubles matches. The first match to conclude was the 8-2 win by Josh Goldberg (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne's County) and Britt Shortle (Lake Mary, Fla./Trinity Preparatory School) at No. 3 over Kevin Prendergast and Michael O'Malley.

Jack Hodges (London, England/Shrewsbury School) provided the Gophers (13-5, 7-1 Landmark) with a 4-0 advantage when he completed his 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Michael Pottieger at third singles. The freshman is 5-0 at that position in the singles lineup in 2014-15.

The point Goucher needed to put the match out of reach for their opponent was provided by Joey Caracappa (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Preparatory School), who was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Keller McGurrin at first singles.

The Royals (4-9, 3-4 Landmark) picked up their only point at No. 2 singles where Matt Prendergast prevailed over Seth Hoesman (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) 6-7 (4), 6-3, 1-0 (12).

Midori Fujitani (Tokyo, Japan/International School Bangkok) regained the team lead in singles victories this season by downing Ryan Bair 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4, raising his record to 15-7 overall.

The Gophers will now begin preparing for their first appearance in the Landmark Conference postseason tournament. As the No. 2 seed, they will host third-seeded Moravian in a semifinal on Tuesday, April 28.