Team History
Fine men's tennis has been visible on the Haverford campus for at least 80 years as the college has always been well-represented in this skillful sport.
Early head coach Norm Bramall epitomized the Haverford tradition of good play and sportsmanship, with players Jim Schnaars '45 and G. Diehl Mateer '50 dominating the Middle Atlantic region. Bramall's teams stayed strong into the '60's with Bob Kelly '61, Spencer Quill '63, Jim House '65 and Bob Swift '68 as leaders.
Under Marty Gilbert, later one of the major figures in introducing tennis to Israel, the '70's became another strong decade with Pete Steenbergen '77 and Richie Marks '81 reaching the highest levels as the NCAA initiated Division III competition. Madrid native Jose Velasco '84 also reached the NCAAs as one of the first stars under ex-Penn Stater Albert Dillon.
Dillon's major accomplishments included addition of squash teams, and transition to use of an indoor surface, possible only since 1983-84 when Versaturf, a polyurethane, allowed regular play in Alumni Field House. Instead of matches being rained out and rescheduled, they were moved indoors on the original date from '84 on.
Dillon also positioned Haverford extremely well in the Centennial Conference, when play in that league began in 1994. Haverford was second only to Washington College in overall winning percentage in the league's first four years. Scotsman Bruce Nisbet '95 and Justin Annes '96, a skilled doubles team as well as outstanding #1 singles stars, were among a select group of Centennial players to be selected twice to the all-league first team.
Dillon ended his 17-year tenure in 1997, and former long-time Williams College coach Sean Sloane replaced him. With the experienced Sloane, also an internationally-known tennis educator and referee, in charge, the Bramall-Gilbert-Dillon tradition has continued to prosper. Sloane led the Fords to back-to-back second-place Centennial Conference finishes in 2003 and 2004 and a conference doubles championship - by the duo of Harrison Lee '04 and Aaron Scherb '04 - in 2004, and a 13-4 record in 2006 and 2007. The Fords also treed their way to another 13-4 record and to the Centennial Conference finals match.