Men's Tennis Returns to Landmark Championships for Third Straight Year
The Goucher College men’s tennis team (14-10, Landmark 5-2) defeated Scranton University 5-2 on the road Tuesday afternoon at the Birchwood Tennis Club, sealing a berth to the Landmark Conference championships for the third straight year.
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Goucher College men's tennis team (14-10, Landmark 5-2) defeated Scranton University 5-2 on the road Tuesday afternoon at the Birchwood Tennis Club, sealing a berth to the Landmark Conference championships for the third straight year.
The Landmark Conference semifinal opened with the Gophers seeking vengeance for a conference loss back in early April to the Royals. In the regular season matchup Goucher fell behind 3-0 during doubles play and was unable to recover, but they refused to make that mistake twice.
Sophomore Elliot Diehl (York, Pa.) and freshman Michael Herman (Prague, Czech Republic) made it look easy, dominating Keller McGurrin and Alexander Ochalski, 8-1. Prior to the matchup, Scranton's duo had only lost one Landmark Conference doubles match all season.
Next to finish were senior Midori Fujitani (Tokyo, Japan) and junior Jack Hodges (London, England) who paired up to win their 38th career match together – a Goucher College record. They bounced Michael Pottieger and Matt Prendergast 8-4, serving them their third Landmark loss of the year.
Sophomore Josiah Meekins (Trenton, N.J.) and freshman Frankie Mullinix (Washington, D.C.) completed the sweep for the Gophers at #3 doubles with a tight 9-8 (7-5) win over Christian Aksu and Brian Harkins.
Heading into singles play, Fujitani wasted no time getting the Gophers the 4-0 lead, winning 6-1, 6-0 over Aksu at #6 singles. The win marks Fujitani's 64th win at Goucher – another school record.
Scranton finally got on the board with a win at #3 singles, taking the match to 4-1. McGurrin doubled the Royals' score at #1 singles, tightening the match 4-2.
Herman had enough at #2 singles, taking down Ochalski 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, sealing the Gophers third consecutive berth to the Landmark Conference men's tennis championships match.
How It Happened:
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Doubles competition |
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1. Michael Herman/Elliot Diehl (GOUM) def. Keller McGurrin/Alexander Ochalski (SCRMT17) 8-1 |
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2. Midori Fujitani/Jack Hodges (GOUM) def. Matt Prendergast/Michael Pottieger (SCRMT17) 8-4 |
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3. Frankie Mullinix/Josiah Meekins (GOUM) def. Christian Aksu/Brian Harkins (SCRMT17) 9-8 (7-5) |
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Singles competition |
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1. Keller McGurrin (SCRMT17) def. Jack Hodges (GOUM) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 |
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2. Michael Herman (GOUM) def. Alexander Ochalski (SCRMT17) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 |
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3. Matt Prendergast (SCRMT17) def. Frankie Mullinix (GOUM) 6-4, 6-4 |
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4. Charles Swope (SCRMT17) vs. Elliot Diehl (GOUM) 3-6, 6-3, unfinished |
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5. Brian Harkins (SCRMT17) vs. Slade Dumas (GOUM) 1-6, unfinished |
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6. Midori Fujitani (GOUM) def. Christian Aksu (SCRMT17) 6-1, 6-0 |
Up Next:
The Gophers will travel to Huntingdon, Pa. to take on the Juniata Eagles in the third consecutive matchup between the two opponents in the Landmark Conference championship. Last year the Gophers took down the defending champs in a 5-2 battle in Towson, Md. and continued into the second round of the NCAA tournament. During the 2017 regular season, Goucher fell to Juniata 5-4 on the road.