May 2, 2010

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's tennis team shut out visiting Swarthmore, 6-0, in the 2010 Centennial Conference title match to win its fourth straight title and fifth in the last six years. The Blue Jays also broke the school single season wins record with their 20th win of the season, improving to 20-5 on the year. The Garnet end their season at 10-10. The win capped a day that saw Hopkins claim Centennial Conference titles in baseball, women's track and field, women's tennis and men's tennis.

Hopkins swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead in the match on a hot and humid day in Baltim ore. Sophomore Warren Elgort (New York, NY/Trinity School) and junior Ryan Rauck (Columbus, OH/Bexley) gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead with an 8-4 win at third over Malikm Mubeen and James Wieler. Senior David Maldow (Jericho, NY/Jericho) and junior Andrew Wang (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) then made it a 2-0 match, defeating Zak Kelm and Stephen Youngblood, 9-7, at first. Sophomore Jacob Barnaby (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Vista) and junior Casey Blythe (Louisville, KY/St. Xavier) closed out doubles play with an 8-6 win over Maxwell Bressman and Mark Wee at second.

In singles play, Maldow dropped just three games in a 6-1, 6-2 win at first over Youngblood to push Hopkins' lead to 4-0. Elgort and freshman Andy Hersh (Valrico, FL/Newsome) then claimed simultaneous wins at third and fourth respectively, to clinch the match for the Blue Jays. Elgort defeated Wee, 6-4, 6-2 while Hersh picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bressman. With the match decided, the remaining three singles matches were halted. Hersh and Maldow now lead the team with 20 wins apiece on the season. Hersh has now tied Wang and Blythe for most singles wins by a freshman in school history. The win for Maldow, the winningest player in program history, was the 80th of his career.

Hopkins improves to 2-0 against Swarthmore in the Centennial Conference Tournament, with both meetings occuring in the title match (2009, 2010). Hopkins earns the Centennial Conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and will learn its postseason fate on Monday, May 10 with the announcement of the NCAA bracket. Stay tuned to www.HopkinsSports.com for more information on the Blue Jays' postseason plans.