POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 10, 2014) – The Vassar College men's tennis team will host two matches this coming weekend against nationally-ranked opponents, New York University and powerhouse, Williams College as their season winds down before Liberty League playoffs.
 
Match Details
Opponent: #23 New York University (6-1)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Josselyn Courts
Date: Friday, April 11, 2014
Time: 3:30 pm
 
Match Details
Opponent: #3 Williams College (8-2)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Josselyn Courts
Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014
Time: 1:00 pm
 
A Look at the Brewers
The Brewers (9-7, 4-1 Liberty League) are currently on a three-match winning streak. All three matches were against their Liberty League opponents, St. Lawrence (8-1), RIT (9-0) and RPI (5-4). The Engineers of RPI were the recent victims of the Brewers after receiving national votes in the rankings. The Brewers earned the win when sophomore Evan Udine (Delray Beach, FL/Boca Raton Community) topped McKinley Grimes 7-5, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. The win currently places Vassar tied for first in the league, having the same league record as Skidmore College (4-1). Skidmore is the only team in the league to have taken a league game off Vassar so far.
Sophomore captain Daniel Cooper (Piedmont, CA/Piedmont) has made an impact for the Brewers this year. He is currently third in the league in the No. 1 singles spot, but his doubles play is what really makes him stand out. He and recent freshman teammate Alexander Luckmann (Berkeley, CA/Head-Royce School) are undefeated in doubles, with a 4-0 record No. 1 as well. Sophomore captain Christian Phelps (Eau Claire, WI/Eau Claire Memorial) has the best singles record on the team, 11-6, playing primarily in the No. 3 spot.
 
A Look at the Violets
The Violets are currently ranked #23 in the nation and are #5 in the Northeast region. They are currently on a two match-winning streak, having beaten their last two opponents by a margin of at least seven. NYU played a total of four, perfect 6-0 sets in its recent win against Baruch College, 9-0. None of the matches went into a third set, extra games or tiebreakers.
The Brewers will need to look out for senior, Steven Wu. He is currently ranked #2 in the region in singles, with a record of 14-1 on the season. He is also on a seven-match win streak. The Brewers will also need to be wary of Aaron Meltzer. He is ranked #25 in the region in singles, with a record of 5-0. The duo of Wu and Meltzer is ranked #7 in the Northeast for doubles with a 3-2 record.
 
Against NYU All-Time
Vassar is currently (11-9) against NYU coming into the weekend. They have won the past six contests against the Violets. The first match up between these two teams occurred in 1993.
 
A Look at the Ephs
The Ephs are currently ranked 3^rd in the nation and 1st in the region. They have had a strong season so far, their only losses coming from Westmont and No. 1 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Williams has three players that are regionally ranked in the top 25. Conrad Harron, Howie Weiss, and Matt Micheli are sitting #3, #14 and #15 respectively.
 
Against Williams All-Time
Vassar is currently 1-15 against Williams all-time. Out of its 16 meetings, the Ephs have swept the Brewers eight times as well as only given up one match point in another six times. The Brewers' lone win was a 7-2 road win in 2002. In the spring of 2007, Vassar fought a close match but fell 6-3 at home.
 
Burgundy Versus Purple
All three of Vassar's final matches of its regular season are against opponents with purple as one of their primary colors.
 
Home On The Range
Vassar and Bard College are the only Liberty League schools that don't have to travel anymore in the regular season. The Raptors will host Sarah Lawrence, Brooklyn College, Hobart College, Mount Saint Mary College and Skidmore College before the Liberty League Championships at RIT.
 
Top Three In The League
Vassar has three players in the top three in the Liberty League at their respective positions in the lineup. Cooper, Phelps and Luckmann are those players at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles.
 
Spotless In The League
Phelps is one of four players with unblemished records in singles in Liberty League play. He is 4-0 at No. 3 with Miles Ransom of Skidmore remaining 3-0 at the same lineup position. Jarrett Regier of RPI is 4-0 at No. 2 Skidmore's Kai Yuen Leung jumps into the category with a 3-0 record.
 
Up Next
The Brewers will round out their season with a 9:00 am home start when they host Liberty League opponent Hobart College after a week off of play on Saturday, April 26 at Josselyn Tennis Courts.