SOUTH HADLEY, MA - Johns Hopkins University advanced to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship Regional Finals with a 5-0 victory over The College of New Jersey Saturday afternoon at Mount Holyoke College. The Blue Jays will take on regional host Amherst College Sunday at noon with a trip to the national quarterfinals on the line.
Johns Hopkins jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of 8-3 victories from its top two doubles pairs. After Jacob Barnaby and Casey Blythe took care of TCNJ's Steve Fernandez and Jonathan Yu in the #2 match, the Blue Jays' top team of David Maldow and Andrew Wang defeated Jeremy Eckardt and Stewart Fernandez by the same score.
The third doubles showdown proved to be the match of the day, with Warren Elgort and Ryan Rauck of Johns Hopkins taking on Bill Carrig and Dan Lee. The Lions seemed to be in control while leading five games to one, but the Blue Jays stormed back to tie things up at 6-6. The match would be tied at 7-7 and 8-8 as well, forcing a thrilling tiebreaker that saw Johns Hopkins once again display its resilience. TCNJ won the first three points of the tiebreaker, but Elgort and Rauck scored six of the next seven points en route to the 9-8 (7-5) victory, giving the Blue Jays a comfortable 3-0 leading heading into singles play.
Elgort was just as impressive in the #3 singles match, as he quickly gave the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead by earning a 6-1, 6-0 win over Yu. Blythe sealed the victory for Johns Hopkins by defeating TCNJ's Edgar Shanoyan in the #5 match, 6-2, 6-0.
While the Blue Jays improve to 16-3, the Lions end their impressive season with an 11-3 record. Sunday will mark the second meeting of the year between Amherst and Johns Hopkins, two teams that met Oct. 11 on the Jays' home courts. The Lord Jeffs came out on top in that matchup, 6-3.
Doubles
1. David Maldow/Andrew Wang (J) def. Jeremy Eckardt/Stewart Fernandez (T), 8-3
2. Jacob Barnaby/Casey Blythe (J) def. Steve Fernandez/Jonathan Yu (T), 8-3
3. Warren Elgort/Ryan Rauck (J) def. Bill Carrig/Dan Lee (T), 9-8 (7-5)
Singles
1. David Maldow (J) leads Jeremy Eckardt (T) 6-5 unfinished
2. Andrew Wang (J) leads Stewart Fernandez (T) 6-3, 2-1 unfinished
3. Warren Elgort (J) def. Jonathan Yu (T) 6-1, 6-0
4. Jacob Barnaby (J) leads Steve Fernandez (T) 6-4, 2-1 unfinished
5. Casey Blythe (J) def. Edgar Shanoyan (T) 6-2, 6-0
6. Peter Vale (J) leads Dan Lee (T) 6-2, 3-0 unfinished