April 20, 2006
#20 Shoremen Excuse Blue Jays, 5-2
Washington Avenges Lone Centennial Loss Ever

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Host Washington College, ranked 20th in Division III and third in the Atlantic South region, won the first three completed singles matches to clinch the victory in a 5-2 Centennial Conference men's tennis win over visiting Johns Hopkins, the eighth-ranked team in the region, in front of a raucous crowd this afternoon at Schottland Tennis Center. The victory avenged Washington's 4-3 loss to Johns Hopkins last season, the Shoremen's only Centennial Conference loss in history.

The doubles point was decided in dramatic fashion. Washington senior Mike Edison (Darnestown, MD/Good Counsel) and senior Maciek Prytula (Szczecin, Poland/PLO) posted an 8-5 over Raffi Roberti and Nick Kennedy at No. 2. Washington junior Arturo Solis (Guatemala, Guatemala/Valle Verde School) and senior Tim Riskie (Woodbury, NJ/Woodbury), the region's fourth ranked doubles team, held a 6-4 lead at No. 1 before JHU's Chanont Vasoontara and Hillen Smith, the region's eighth-ranked doubled team, rallied for a 9-7 win. The Shoremen still came away with the doubles point, however, as freshman Anantha Bhaskar (Chennai, India/National Open School) and freshman Rafael Roldan (Quito, Ecuador/Academia Cotopaxi) won the final eight games at No. 3 after trailing, 7-1, to post a 9-7 win over Matt Naftilan and Kevin Ma.

Washington wrapped up the match early on in singles play. Bhaskar rolled past Roberti at No. 3, 6-2, 6-2, while Prytula was a 6-4, 6-1, winner over Naftilan at No. 5. Roldan gave the Shoremen a 4-0 lead and the victory by completing a 6-3, 6-3, win over Lawrence Wei at No. 6.

Hopkins got on the board when Smith defeated Riskie at No. 2, 6-2, 5-7, 10-6. Solis, the region's top-ranked singles player, pushed the lead to 5-1 with a 6-3, 6-4, win over Vasoontara, the region's 19th-ranked singles player, at No. 1. Ma accounted for the Blue Jays' other point in the match with a 7-6(5), 6-4, win over Edison at No. 4 in the last match to finish.

The Blue Jays' win over the Shoremen last season ended Washington's 122-match conference winning streak which dated back to 1985 when Washington was a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference. The Shoremen were 90-0 all-time in Centennial play before that loss.

"Today was a well-contested tennis match, but our guys wanted it a little more today," remarked WC head coach Constantine Ananiadis. "It was exciting to win this match in front of a great home crowd and it gives us confidence going into Saturday."

The Shoremen, who have won 12 consecutive matches, return to action Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home match against Haverford. The winner of Saturday's match will be the top seed and host for the first-ever Centennial Conference Playoffs April 29th and 30th.

MATCH RESULTS