POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 30, 2016) — The Vassar College men's tennis team fought all the way to the third set of the day's final match, but ultimately fell 5-4 to Hobart College on Saturday.
With the loss, the Brewers end their season with an 8-14 overall and 4-3 conference mark. The Statesmen improve to 9-7 and 4-2 in conference play, and with the win, they edge the Brewers to clinch the fourth and final spot of the Liberty League Championships.
"Tough way to go out today. Tough match," senior captain Daniel Cooper said. "Everyone battled, and I'm proud of what we've done together this season. It's been a good four years."
The 2016 senior class of Cooper, Jeffrey Gerwin, Sha Huang and Evan Udine has helped Vassar men's tennis to a 39-46 overall and 17-7 conference record. Also in the past four years, the Brewers have made three Liberty League Championships appearances. In 2013, Vassar won the Liberty League title on its way to competing in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
"Freshman year, I had a great group of seniors as role models, and we had a great season," Cooper said. "That was the year that we won Liberty Leagues after we were the underdogs pretty much the whole season long, so that was really exciting."
Cooper and the other seniors have since turned into role models themselves for Vassar men's tennis. Although they're leaving the program behind, Cooper is confidence they're leaving it in good hands.
"We've definitely grown a lot," Cooper said. "I'm proud of the legacy we're leaving behind because I know that the juniors and the rest of the guys on the team are going to lead them to great things the right way."
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In Vassar's match versus Hobart, the Statesmen jumped out to a 2-1 lead. Duo Nick Litsky and Udine put the Brewers on the board with an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles over Danny Kot and Michael Rusk. Cooper and Gray Thurstone fell 8-6 at one to Jonah Salita and Jonathan Atwater, while Juan Felipe Laso and Alexander Luckmann lost 8-5 at three to Patrick Gray and Harry Nichols.
The Brewers were undeterred, as Litsky took the first match of singles 6-3, 6-0 at one over Jonah Salita. Rusk retaliated and beat Udine 6-4, 6-1 at three after falling to him in doubles.
In a match that was nip-and-tuck, Cooper picked up another win for the Brewers, beating Atwater 6-3, 6-0 at two. Then Kot edged Nick Lee 7-5, 6-1 at six to give the Statesmen a 4-3 lead.
Freshman Jamie Anderson knotted the match, 4-all, with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory at five over Patrick Gray.
In the deciding match, Laso fought all the way to the third set, but ultimately lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 at four to Harry Nichols.
"It's tough to go out like this," Cooper said, "but I think that what we've done over the past four years, I'm never going to forget."
—VASSAR—
