POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 11, 2009) – The Vassar College women’s tennis team put together a memorable 2008-09 season and saw its efforts recognized with a No. 21 national ranking in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, released on June 9. The Brewers improved on their No. 23 national ranking last year and are the highest ranked squad since 2004 when Vassar was No. 17. Vassar also received a No. 7 ranking in a formidable Northeast region that features two-time NCAA Division III National Champion Williams College and runner-up Amherst College.
Nationally ranked in the last nine seasons, the women's tennis program has appeared in the national standings in 16 of the last 22 years. The 2008-09 Brewers compiled an 18-5 record, winning the Liberty League title and receiving an invitation to the NCAA Division III Championships, both for the seventh straight year. At the NCAA Tournament, the Brewers cruised past Simmons College, 6-0 in the first round, but fell to Williams, 6-1. The Ephs went on to capture their second consecutive National Championship. The Brewers have reached the NCAA postseason eight out of the last nine years. Had the NY State Championships included team scoring, Vassar would have also won its seventh straight NY State Championship in the fall.
Individually, junior
Nicole Pontee made a huge jump in the national rankings, moving from No. 25 to No. 12. Regionally, Pontee climbed from No. 9 to No. 4. Pontee’s national ranking is the highest for a Vassar player since 1991 and the second highest in program history. Pontee, the Liberty League Player of the Year and Northeast Region ITA Player to Watch, compiled a 26-6 record at No. 1 singles this season, earning ITA All-America honors for the second straight year. Pontee earned the honor after advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championships. Pontee notched an upset win in three sets over the No. 8 seed, Meghan Damico of Denison University in the first round, but fell in the Round of 16 to NCAA singles runner-up Ploy Suthijindawong of St. Scholastica, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Also earning a regional ranking is freshman
Jennifer Beckerman and the doubles team of Pontee and senior
Jamison Steele. Beckerman, the Liberty League Rookie of the Year, is ranked No. 21 in the Northeast after a collegiate debut that saw her go 18-6 playing mainly at No. 2 singles for the Brewers. Playing against eventual champion Williams in the second round of the NCAA Championships, Beckerman earned Vassar’s only point of the day, in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Cary Gibson, ranked No. 18 in the Northeast Region. Pontee and Steele earned a No. 8 ranking in the Northeast. The All-Liberty League Doubles team compiled a 14-9 record at No. 1 doubles in 2008-09 and are 32-16 overall as a team.