Goucher And Scranton Meet In Men's Tennis Landmark Conference Postseason For Fifth Straight Year On Tuesday
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Goucher College men's tennis team will continue its drive for five straight Landmark Conference Tournament titles on Tuesday, May 4, when the squad travels to No. 2 the University of Scranton in the Landmark Conference Semifinals. The match time is 1 p.m., and will be played indoors due to the weather forecast at the Birchwood Raquet Club. It will be the fifth consecutive season these two teams will tangle in the postseason.
At the University of Scranton, the no outside spectator policy remains in effect for the postseason. Scranton will be providing live stats for the match. Click HERE to view.
Along with the Goucher-Scranton battle, top seed Drew University will host No. 4 Susquehanna University on Tuesday. The winners of both matches will meet in the Landmark Conference Championship Game on Saturday, May 8.
Scranton defeated Goucher 6-3 on April 18 in Baltimore. Both teams come into the match with a 7-2 record.
In the regular-season meeting, James Harrington and Tarquin McGurrin defeated Omosesan Adebamgbe (Philadelphia, Pa./Lower Merion) and Slade Dumas (Great Falls, Va./Dominion), 8-3 at No. 1 doubles. Adebamgbe and Dumas are 8-1 this year and 27-4 in their career together. Harrington and McGurrin are 7-0 on the year at No. 1 doubles.
Angel Cerpa (El Paso, Texas/Americas) and Brian Kane downed Patrick O'Mara and Nathan Tauber 8-1 at No. 2 doubles in the regular-season meeting. Cerpa and Kane and 8-1 this season, while O'Mara and Tauber are 4-3 this season at No. 2 doubles.
In singles, McGurrin downed Dumas 6-1, 6-2, at No. 1 singles in Baltimore. Dumas is 7-2 this season at No. 1 singles and holds a 66-23 record in singles for his career. With his win against Moravian College on Saturday, Dumas is now the Goucher and Landmark Conference all-time leader with 66 career singles wins. McGurrin is 8-0 this year and is 37-9 in singles in his career.
Harrington beat Adebamgbe 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 2 singles, while Kane defeated Tauber 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Adebamgbe is 7-2 on the year in singles play after going 4-2 at No. 2 singles and 3-0 at No. 3 singles. Kane is 8-1 on the year with a 2-1 mark at No. 2 singles and a 6-0 record at No. 3 singles. Adebamgbe is 15-17 in his singles career, while Kane is 29-13 in his career in singles play. Harrington is 9-0 in his first season with the Royals, and Tauber is 4-4 in 2021 and 10-7 in his career.
Cerpa defeated O'Mara 6-4, 6-3 in the regular-season meeting. Cerpa has won his last seven matches in his first year in Baltimore and is 8-1 on the year. O'Mara is 6-3 on the year and 9-6 in his career.
Alex Dominguez lost 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles to Sal Sullivan on April 18. Dominguez is looking for his first collegiate win. Sullivan is 4-4 this season, including 4-2 at No. 5 singles and 0-2 at No. 6 singles in 2021, and 5-7 in his career.
Goucher will start the match trailing 2-0 after defaulting at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. The competition will be halted once a team gets to five team points, and any matches still in action will be unfinished.
Goucher, who is making its sixth straight tournament appearance, holds a 10-1 record in the postseason with tournament titles in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Scranton has participated in 11 of the 12 conference tournaments, and the team is 7-11 in the Landmark postseason, including 7-2 at home. These two teams have met in the last four postseasons, with the Gophers winning all four matches, including a 5-2 Blue and Gold victory in Scranton in the 2015 semifinals.
It will be the 17th meeting between Goucher and Scranton since the inception of the Landmark Conference. The series is tied at eight wins apiece, but the Gophers have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Goucher is 2-1 on the road in the conference postseason, and the squad will be away from Baltimore for the first time since 2017. The Blue and Gold lost at Juniata in the 2015 championship match, and then avenged regular-season losses to Scranton and Juniata on the road during the 2017 championship to win the title as the No. 3 seed.
Gophers head coach Eric Spangler is in his third season in Baltimore and looking to win his second title as a head coach after winning the 2019 title. The 2019 Landmark Conference Coach of the Year is 26-10 in his career with Goucher, including 13-2 in conference play. Scranton is led by seven-year head coach Jack Rubano, who has guided the Royals to a 53-45 overall mark and 26-12 record in the circuit.