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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 25, 2009) -- The Vassar College women's tennis team made the first step towards securing its seventh straight Liberty League title with an 8-1 win over William Smith College in the tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Joss Courts. The Brewers withstood an intense midday sun to hold off the Herons and earn a repeat championship date with Skidmore College, which narrowly beat St. Lawrence University, 5-4.

Tomorrow's match-up between Vassar and Skidmore, slated to start at 9:00am, will mark the sixth time the two teams have met in the Liberty League finals in the past nine seasons. Vassar holds a 4-1 edge in those meetings. They also played this season, on April 11, and the Brewers won 6-3 in what was a highly competitive match.

“Our team does a really good job of being ready for every opponent,” said head coach Kathy Campbell, who has been at the helm for all six of the league titles. “We'll be confident, but we are not taking [Skidmore] lightly. It's always tougher to play somebody the second time, but that's a two-way street. Everybody's looking forward to it.”

In doubles today, the numbers two and three squads both earned 8-2 wins, making quick work of the Herons and effectively preserving their energy for singles play. At the number one spot, Brewers Nicole Pontee and Jamison Steele withstood tough net play from William Smith's Chelsea Rauck and Joanie Hilton with an aggressive counter-attack of their own. Rauck and Hilton continued to fight, and trailing 5-4 they traded games to get to within 6-5, but the Brewers broke their serve in the ensuing game and Pontee held serve in the final to close out the match.

No matches in the singles field went to a third match, but two featured 7-5 set scores. Melissa Slack was the lone Heron to post a victory against Vassar, defeating sophomore Elizabeth Anderson 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 5 slot. Brewer Joy Backer was similarly tested at No. 3. Backer won her first set against Casey Kennedy with ease, 6-1, but Kennedy pushed her in the second set before falling 7-5. And at the No. 4 spot, William Smith's Hilton challenged Vassar senior Alexis Jacobson in the first set, but lost 7-5 and Jacobson cruised to a 6-1 decision in the second to secure a win and push her personal singles record this year to an imposing 20-4.

Doubles
1. Nicole Pontee/Jamison Steele (VC) def. Chelsea Rauck/Joanie Hilton (WC), 8-5
2. Joy Backer/Krista Romita (VC) def. Amanda Slack/Melissa Slack (WS), 8-2
3. Jennifer Beckerman/Alexis Jacobson (VC) def. Casey Kennedy/Carly Sisson (WS), 8-2

Exhibition Doubles
4. Nicole Block/Caroline Dunn-Rankin (VC) def. Sarah Cutts/Katie Serouc (WS), 8-2

Singles
1. Nicole Pontee (VC) def. Chelsea Rauck (WS), 6-4, 6-0
2. Jennifer Beckerman (VC) def. Amanda Slack (WS), 6-0, 6-2
3. Joy Backer (VC) def. Casey Kennedy (WS), 6-1, 7-5
4. Alexis Jacobson (VC) def. Joanie Hilton (WS), 7-5, 6-1
5. Melissa Slack (WS) def. Elizabeth Anderson (VC), 6-2, 6-3
6. Jamison Steele (VC) def. Jess McCue (WS), 6-1, 6-2