The Fords’ tennis team began its journey through the PAISAA tournament two weeks ago, beating Shipley and Friends Central to advance to the final round. The Fords made it to the PAISAA championship last year, where they suffered a loss. This year, the Fords beat Germantown Friends School 6-1, bringing home a victory plaque to the athletic center.
Third Former Grant MacColl and Second Former Shaya Khojasteh clinched the victory for the team with a tight third-set win at fourth doubles.
“I blocked out all the noise around me and played like we were in practice,” MacColl said. “From there, I didn’t miss a shot and knew we were points away from winning PAISAA.”
Coach Tracy Tooke often reminds players to stay calm during a match’s final games.
“The attitude you have in those final points separates winners and losers,” Tooke said.
MacColl and Khojasteh displayed qualities of the former on Thursday, helping secure a new Haverford title.
“I knew we could persevere. Once I found out our team had already clinched the win, I was super happy and began playing looser and stronger than before.”
Kaiser Zhao ’26
Fifth Former Kaiser Zhao enjoyed a spectacular win over Germantown Friends’ number-one singles, boasting a strong 16-4 season record.
“I felt very emotional playing Germantown Friends because it was a revenge match for us. I knew it was gonna be a tough one for us as a team, but I knew we could persevere. Once I found out our team had already clinched the win, I was super happy and began playing looser and stronger than before,” Zhao said.
Zhao’s attitude during his match’s last set was the attitude that the team had throughout the entire season. The boys would not have come this far without staying positive in some of the toughest moments of the sport.
The team will lose Sixth Formers Ian Rosenzweig, Phineas Manogue, and Gabriel Crowder, all of whom have been four-year contributors. Losing them on the roster next season will certainly be a burden to bear, but it will be just one more challenge for the team to overcome in their hopes of maintaining the title of state champions.
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