Former Newsome tennis player Hersh wins regional crown

Posted Oct 3, 2011 by Katherine Smith

Updated Oct 3, 2011 at 08:22 PM

Former Newsome standout tennis player Andy Hersh is making history at Johns Hopkins University.

Hersh won the UTA Southeast Regional Singles title, a year after finishing runner-up. He is the first ITA Regional Singles champion in Johns Hopkins’ tennis program’s history. Along with the victory, Hersh, a junior, earns All-America honors and will compete for the ITA National Small College Championship Oct. 13-16 in Mobile, Ala.

En route to the title, Hersh, the tournament’s seventh seed, defeated four ranked opponents. He beat teammate and freshman Tanner Brown (seeded ninth) in Monday’s semifinal match to advance to the championship match for the second straight year. Hersh prevailed in three sets over fifth-seeded Duke Miller of Carnegie Mellon.

Down 2-4 in the third and final set, Hersh battled back to take the set and match 7-5. In the other half of the draw, former Wharton No. 1 singles player and state champion Ben Hwang, also at Johns Hopkins, was seeded ninth and lost in the other semifinal.

Monday’s victory was Hersh’s eighth of the season and 53rd of his career, moving him into fourth place in school history in career singles wins.