Third Set Thriller Leads Gophers to Win Against Cardinals in Conference Semifinals

May 1, 2026

Team Stats

Game Statistics	Goucher	Catholic
Score	4	2

Doubles

Gabe Naftoly / Benedikt Rummel def. Diego Romo / James Earwood 6-0
Lorenzo Neri / Ian Arenas def. Tadeo Asprella / Ian Hewes 5-4
George King / Guilherme Moraes def. Jake Hershey / Flynn Hollinger 6-4

Singles

Gabe Naftoly def. Lorenzo Neri 6-4 , 4-6 , 7-6
Tadeo Asprella def. James Earwood 6-1 , 6-3
Benedikt Rummel def. Jake Hershey 6-2 , 6-4
Diego Romo def. Guilherme Moraes 6-3 , 6-7 , 4-7
Flynn Hollinger def. Ian Hewes 5-7 , 7-5 , 4-5
Ian Arenas def. George King 6-4 , 6-2

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Goucher College Gophers (13-6 overall, 8-2 conference) traveled to take on the number two-seeded Catholic University of America Cardinals (14-8 overall, 8-1 conference) in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference playoffs. The Gophers clinched the victory, winning 4-2.

The match started with the Gophers securing the doubles point. The No. 1 doubles pair of Gabe Naftoly and Benedikt Rummel swept their doubles match, winning 6-0. No. 3 doubles team, Guilherme Moraes and George King, clinched the doubles point for the Gophers, adding a 6-4 victory. The No. 2 team of Tadeo Asprella and Ian Hewes was down 5-4, but the match remained unfinished due to Goucher earning the point.

The first to finish singles play was Rummel. He won the first set 6-2 and the second set 6-3, to win the No. 3 matchup. Next to finish was Asprella in No. 2 singles, taking down his opponent 6-1, 6-3. The Cardinals used two key points to rally back, with King losing the No. 6 singles match 6-4, 6-2, and Moraes finishing the No. 4 singles, dropping the first set 6-2 but fighting back to win the second set 7-6(7-4). Moraes lost in the tiebreaker 6-4. This brought the overall score to 3-2, with the remaining matches in third sets.

After a back-and-forth No. 1 singles match, Naftoly was victorious, clinching the win for the Gophers. He won the first set 6-4, then lost the second set 6-4. The third set went to a tiebreaker after the sets were tied. Naftoly pulled out the win, earning the final two points to bring the third set 7-6(8-6). This gave the team the fourth point to clinch the victory. Due to the final point finishing on court one, Hewes did not finish his match at the No. 5 singles. He won his first set 7-5 but lost the second set 7-5. His third set stopped with him holding the advantage, 5-4.

The Gophers play next in the Landmark Conference Championship on Sunday, May 3^rd, against Moravian at 1pm. The contest will be held at the Central PA Tennis Center in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania for a neutral site championship.