ASHLAND, Va. – Guilford College's men's tennis team advanced to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament final for the first time in school history Saturday with a 5-0 win over Bridgewater College in a semifinal match at Randolph-Macon College.
The third-seeded Quakers (12-5) notched their sixth straight victory to reach Sunday's final against top-seeded Washington and Lee University, a 5-0 semifinal winner over fifth-seeded Hampden-Sydney College Saturday. The winner of Sunday's 10:00 a.m. title match at Randolph-Macon receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The seven-time defending league champion Generals are ranked 29th in the latest Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Rankings and scored an 8-1 win over Guilford March 26.
Guilford raced to a 3-0 lead after doubles play with the second-seeded Eagles (13-6). Levi Bruff and Aaron Smedley made quick work of Bridgewater's Dayton Carpenter and Emmett Johnson at third doubles, 8-1. Guilford's Chasen Chacon and Graham Pearson doubled the lead with an 8-2 triumph in the second flight over the Eagles' Kris Stokes and Sonet Gandhi. Tate Godwin and Mesa Martorell took an 8-4 first-doubles decision over Nathaniel Horner and Freddie Roberts.
The Quakers' Mason Church knocked off Carpenter at sixth singles, 6-2, 6-2, before Bruff clinched the win with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Gandhi at fifth singles.
Coach Dave McCain's Quakers have their most wins in a season since the 1996 club went 13-6.
