ITHACA, N.Y. – The Liberty League men's and women's tennis championships return to the Reis Tennis Center at Cornell University as six men's teams and six women's teams will compete for Liberty League championships this Friday-Sunday, April 28-30. The top two teams for both men and women earn first-round byes. Two first-round matches will be held on Friday, April 28, two semifinals on April 29, and the championship match on April 30 for each gender. The championship teams receive the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
Live scoring updates will be provided throughout the tournament through the iOnCourt mobile app. Results can also be accessed for each match through the following links:
LIVE SCORING: Women's Championship | Men's Championship
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (times may be adjusted throughout the tournament):
FRIDAY, APRIL 28 (First Round):
8:30 a.m. (WOMEN):
#5 St. Lawrence 5, #4 Union 4
11:30 a.m. (WOMEN):
#3 RPI 5, #6 Ithaca 1
2:15 p.m. (MEN):
#4 RPI 5, #5 Union 0
5:00 p.m. (MEN):
#3 Vassar 5, #6 St. Lawrence 2
SATURDAY, APRIL 29 (Semifinals):
8:30 a.m. (WOMEN):
#1 Vassar 5, #5 St. Lawrence 0
11:30 a.m. (WOMEN):
#2 Skidmore 5, #3 RPI 2
2:15 p.m. (MEN):
#4 RPI 5, #1 Skidmore 0
5:00 p.m. (MEN): #2 Hobart vs. #3 Vassar
SUNDAY, APRIL 30 (Championships):
9 a.m. (WOMEN): #1 Vassar vs #2 Skidmore
1 p.m. (MEN): #4 RPI vs. #2 Hobart/#3 Vassar winner
ABOUT THE WOMEN'S TEAMS...
#1 Vassar (11-5 overall, 7-1 Liberty League)
- Vassar earned the tournament's top seed for the second consecutive season. The Brewers are seeking their first Liberty League title since 2010. Vassar earned the top seed by a 5-4 road victory over Skidmore on April 23.
- The Brewers enter the Liberty League tournament having won five straight matches, including 5-4 Liberty League victories over both RPI and Skidmore.
- Macey Dowd, currently 12-3 in dual-match play, recently moved up to the top spot in the Vassar singles lineup. She is currently 5-1 at first singles. Erin McCusker is currently 12-2 in dual-match play, including a perfect 8-0 at second singles, her current position.
- The Vassar doubles teams are a combined 17-7 in Liberty League matches. The first doubles team of McCusker and Sofie Shen has an 8-6 record. The second doubles pairing of Macey Dowd and Iris Li leads the team with a 12-4 record.
#2 SKIDMORE (10-7 overall, 7-1 Liberty League)
- Skidmore is the defending Liberty League champion, having won 11 straight Liberty League titles. The Thoroughbreds were the No. 2 seed last year as well but defeated Vassar 5-3 in a close final to retain the league title.
- Skidmore is a combined 40-7 in Liberty League singles play (61-40 in dual matches). The Thoroughbreds have been especially strong in the four through six positions, fashioning a combined 36-14 dual-match record. Konika Dhull 14-2 in dual matches while playing both fourth and fifth singles.
- Dhull and Beilynn Geiss lead the team with an 11-2 record in doubles while playing in both the second and third spots.
#3 RPI (13-4 overall, 6-2 Liberty League)
- RPI will be a strong challenger for the title as the Engineers lost narrow 5-4 decisions to both Vassar and Skidmore.
- First-year player Nikki Ridenour has been one of the league's top rookies, playing nearly the entire season in the first singles position. Ridenour has compiled a 10-6 dual-match record, including 8-6 at first singles.
- The Engineers have been strong in doubles play, going a league-best 22-2 in doubles competition. The first doubles team of Ridenour and Lorna Flores Gonzalez has combined for a 15-1 dual-match record, including 13-1 at first doubles. Alex Mednikova and Rani Jones are 11-1 at second doubles.
#4 UNION (9-6 overall, 5-3 Liberty League)
- Union earned the tournament's fourth seed – the highest seed the Dutchwomen have earned since the Liberty League tournament moved to a six-team format. Union defeated St. Lawrence 7-2 to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker for the fourth seed.
- Twelve different players have played in dual-match singles matches for the Dutchwomen. Marilena Karadimou, who has gone 3-3 in Liberty League matches, plays first singles for Union.
- Karadimou and Gracie Nicol are the team's top doubles tandem, having gone 6-4 at first doubles. The Dutchwomen are a combined 15-9 in Liberty League doubles matches.
#5 ST. LAWRENCE (9-5 overall, 5-3 Liberty League)
- St. Lawrence is the lone team in the league to beat top-seeded Vassar. The Saints defeated the Brewers 5-4 at Vassar on April 8. St. Lawrence won at second and third doubles and then split three of the six singles matches, including first, third, and fourth singles.
- The middle of the Saints' singles lineup has been particularly strong. The Saints are a combined 34-8 at the third, fourth, and fifth singles positions. First-year player Angelica Aksdal-Jansen leads the team with an 11-2 dual-match record, including 9-1 at fourth singles.
- St. Lawrence has received consistent production from its doubles teams. The Saints have won at least nine doubles matches in each of the three positions. Catherine Gamble and Molly Jespersen have gone 9-5 at first doubles while Caitlyn Avery and Emily Harris have recorded an 8-5 record at second doubles.
#6 Ithaca (8-9 overall, 3-5 Liberty League)
- Ithaca earned a 5-4 win over William Smith on April 12 to clinch a Liberty League tournament berth. First-year player Sabrina Cheung had the clinching victory, rallying for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory at fourth singles.
- Taylor Crain, last year's Liberty League Rookie of the Year, has had another strong season, going 12-3 at first singles and 12-3 in doubles play while combining with Caroline Herz.
- Cheung has had a strong rookie season, going a combined 12-3 in dual matches while playing anywhere from second to sixth in the lineup.
ABOUT THE MEN'S TEAMS...
#1 SKIDMORE (10-7 overall, 7-1 Liberty League)
- Skidmore earned the top seed in the Liberty League tournament. The Thoroughbreds earned a 5-4 victory over Hobart on April 1, handing the Statesmen their only Liberty League loss. Griffin Biernat rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win at third singles to clinch the match for Skidmore.
- Seniors Brendan Jimenez and Sergiu Celebidachi have anchored the Skidmore lineup. Jimenez has gone 10-6 in dual matches, all at first singles, while Celebidachi is a team-best 12-4, including 11-4 at second singles.
- Jimenez and first-year Nika Mori have a team-best 9-6 record at first doubles. Jimenez, who also has two doubles wins while combining with Biernat, is 11-6 in doubles play.
#2 HOBART (15-4 overall, 7-1 Liberty League)
- As the tournament's second seed, Hobart has earned its highest seed in the Liberty League championship. The Statesmen also own the league's top overall record at 15-4. Hobart is 15-2 against Division III opponents – two of the team's losses came against Division I Cornell and Division II Le Moyne. The only Division III losses have come against NYU and Skidmore.
- Sean Pesin, who played primarily at second and third singles last year, has gone 10-5 while playing exclusively at first singles this season. Hyat Oyer leads the team in singles victories, going a combined 15-3, including 10-2 at fourth singles.
- The doubles team of Pesin and Jett Wright has compiled an 11-5 record at first singles, including 5-1 in Liberty League matches. As a team, Hobart is 19-5 in Liberty League doubles matches.
#3 VASSAR (11-5 overall, 6-2 Liberty League)
- Vassar, which finished tied for third with RPI, earned the third seed by virtue of a 7-2 win over RPI at home on April 1.
- The Brewers boast a balanced singles lineup. Vassar is either 11-5 or 10-6 at all six singles positions. The team has two of the league's top first-year players in Fernando Bauermeister and Nolan Kubiak. Bauermeister has played every match at first singles, having compiled a 10-6 record.
- Bauermeister and Kubiak have combined for an 11-5 record at first doubles, including 7-1 in Liberty League matches. Their only loss came against Jimenez and Mori of Skidmore (8-5) in their last match.
#4 RPI (10-6 overall, 6-2 Liberty League)
- RPI is the defending Liberty League champion. The Engineers are also the only team to beat top-seeded Skidmore. RPI cruised to a 7-2 win on April 8, winning two doubles matches and first through fifth singles.
- Sophomore Aiden Drover-Mattinen is one of the league's top players. Last year's Liberty League Player of the Year as a rookie, Drover-Mattinen won the ITA Northeast Regional singles title in the fall and earned an invitation to the ITA Cup. He is currently 11-5 at first singles and 6-2 in league matches.
- Junior Zoe Davis and first-year Kayla Shenk each have 11 dual-match singles wins. Davis has played the majority of her matches at fourth singles where she has gone 8-4.
#5 UNION (7-8 overall, 4-4 Liberty League)
- Union has closed the regular season with three wins in its last four matches, including wins in two of three Liberty League matches. A 5-4 win over St. Lawrence clinched the fifth seed for the Dutchmen.
- Ben Jacobs has been Union's top singles player. After beginning the season by going 3-2 at second singles, Jacobs was elevated to the top spot, where he has gone 5-4. He is currently tied with Ian Schunk (8-6 at fifth singles) with eight singles victories.
- Jacobs and Dimitris Binopoulos have been the team's top doubles pairing, combining to earn five wins at first doubles.
#6 ST. LAWRENCE (7-8 overall, 3-5 Liberty League)
- St. Lawrence has been a part of a number of close Liberty League matches, including 5-4 losses to top-seeded Skidmore and fifth-seeded Union. Against Skidmore, the teams split three of the six singles matches, which included three three-set matches.
- The Saints have had a balanced lineup with winning records in the fourth, fifth, and sixth singles spots. Cole Hamilton leads the team with nine dual-match wins, including an 8-5 mark at fifth singles.
- St. Lawrence is 29-16 in dual-match doubles play. The doubles pairing of John Hill-Edgar and Edvin Strandberg has combined to go a team-best 11-4, including 2-0 at second doubles and 9-4 at third doubles.