POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 6, 2015) – The Vassar men's tennis team will kick off its spring season this Saturday, February 7 when the Brewers travel to Paxton, MA to face Clark University in a dual match.

Match Details
Opponent: Clark University (2-3)
Links: (Clark Men's Tennis Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule)
Site: Paxton, MA
Facility: Paxton Sports Centre
Date: February 2, 2015
Time: 6:00 pm
 
What to Look For:
Saturday's match will be the first of 2015 for both teams, as the spring portion of the 2014-15 collegiate tennis season gets started nationwide.

A Look at the Cougars:
Clark completed the fall season with a 2-3 mark in dual matches, starting off the year with a 9-0 victory over Salve Regina and a 7-2 win over Union College. The Cougars dropped their final three matches of the year to Assumption College (6-3), Stonehill College (8-1) and University of Hartford (6-1).

Clark is led by graduate student Dan Stein, who spent the majority of the fall as the team's No.1 singles player while also appearing on the No. 1 doubles team. Juniors Antoine Martin and Fernando Pinoargote also return as two of the top players for the Cougars from the fall.

Fall Rewind:
Vassar is coming off a solid fall season where the Brewers finished 2-1 in dual matches, while also competing at the ITA Northeast Regionals and Connecticut College Invitational. The Brewers picked up two quality Liberty League dual victories over Union (8-1) and Bard (8-1) on September 27 and October 1 (respectively), while sophomore Nick Litsky (St. Petersburg, FL/Shorecrest Prep. School) advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Northeast Regional Singles Championship.    

Last Meeting:
Vassar and Clark also opened the season against each other last year, where Vassar earned a 5-0 dual match victory over the Cougars on February 8, 2014. Then-sophomore Christian Phelps (Eau Claire, WI/Eau Claire Memorial) and then-freshman Alexander Luckmann (Berkeley, CA/Head-Royce School) won the singles points that clinched the win. Phelps defeated Spencer Pinkney, 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot, while Luckmann got the No. 6 6-4, 6-2 win over Josh Burger.

Spring Slate:
After competing against Clark, the Brewers will play three more dual matches on three consecutive Saturdays over the month of February against TCNJ (2/14), Skidmore College (2/21) and the Coast Guard Academy (2/28). Vassar will then play back-to-back matches against MIT (3/6) and Babson College (3/7) to open the month of March before traveling west for the team's spring break trip.

While in California, the Brewers will play a quartet of dual matches against Chapman University (3/16), California Lutheran University (3/17), Whittier College (3/18) and George Fox University (3/21) before returning back home. After a brief hiatus, VC will return to competition on the road against NYU (4/11) for the squad's final non-conference match of the season.

The Brewers will then host a trio of Liberty League schools at Josslyn Tennis courts, starting with RPI and RIT the weekend of April 18-19. On Saturday, April 25 the Brewers will celebrate senior day in its final home match of the year against St. Lawrence University, before wrapping up the regular season the following day against Hobart College in Geneva, NY. Granted the Brewers finish in the top four in the conference, VC will travel to Ithaca, NY to compete in the Liberty League Championships at the Reis Tennis Center of Cornell University.