POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 4, 2016) — The second-seeded, No. 37 Vassar College women's tennis team (13-7, 6-1) will lace up against third-seeded, No. 26 Skidmore College (9-8, 6-1) in the semifinals of the 2016 Liberty League Championships at Cornell University on Saturday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Elsewhere in the tournament, first-seeded St. Lawrence University (13-6, 6-1) will compete against fourth-seeded William Smith College (11-7, 4-3) earlier in the day at 3 p.m. The winners of those two matches will compete for the title in the championship match.

Match Details
Opponent: vs. No. 26 Skidmore College (9-8, 6-1 Liberty League)
Links: (Skidmore Women's Tennis Home Page)(Roster)(Stats)(Schedule)
Site: Ithaca, NY
Location: Cornell University
Date: May 7, 2016
Time: 6 p.m. Saturday
 
Last Time Out
The Brewers built momentum going into the postseason with a 6-3 win at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday. The Brewers dominated doubles. Lauren Stuaffer and Kate Christensen opened the match with an 8-3 win over Pooja Ganesh and Andrea Valencia at two, while Hanna McGuire and Shayna Becker secured an 8-5 victory over Emily Laurilliard and Melanie Frank at one. Connie Yoo struck first in singles, posting a 6-1, 6-0 win over Emily Aaldenberg at six. Becker kept the momentum rolling with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ganesh at four. Christensen secured her second win of the day, handing Frommer a 6-0, 6-0 bagel at one to secure the team victory. Then Flournoy bounced back with a hard-fought win, beating Nisha Rajamohan 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 at five. 

A Look at the Skidmore Thoroughbreds (9-8, 6-1)
Skidmore struggled toward the end of the regular season, falling in three of the last four matches. The Thoroughbreds lone win in that span came at Trinity College in Connecticut. They handed the Bantams a 7-2 loss on Saturday. In the match, Michelle Fuca won 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3 singles and 9-7 at No. 1 doubles with Madie Benn. The pair boasts a team-best 16-10 doubles record on the season. Erica Meno holds the most wins in singles play with a 14-13 record. Zoe Chodak is 12-7 in singles, Laura Swenson is 11-4 and Fuca is 10-12. Last year, the Thoroughbreds beat the St. Lawrence Saints in the semifinals, 5-1, before besting the Brewers in the championship match, 5-3.

Previous Meeting
Vassar most recently pulled out a 5-4 victory over Skidmore on April 2, 2016.  The Thoroughbreds had won 40 Liberty League matches prior to the upset, making the victory even sweeter for the rival Brewers. Vassar dominated doubles to set the tone for the rest of the match. Morgane Flournoy and Kelsey Van Noy defeated Zoe Chodak and Alexa Goldberg, 8-5, at No. 3 doubles to start things off on the right foot. Then duo Hanna McGuire and Shayna Becker beat an All-American team of Madie Benn and Michelle Fuca, 8-4, at one to secure the doubles victory. Taking a 2-1 lead into singles, Vassar continued to roll. Fitzgerald quickly took the first match, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 against Erica Meno. But the Thoroughbreds bounced back to tie the match at 3-all. Becker put the Brewers back on top with a grind-it-out win at five, topping Chodak in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. And freshman Flournoy clinched the team win with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Goldberg at six. 

Kate Spade
Kate Spade was pegged Performer of the Week by the Liberty League for the third time this season on Monday. The sophomore was one of two Brewers to win both her doubles and singles matches against RPI on Saturday. After teaming up with Lauren Stauffer to take down Pooja Ganesh and Andrea Valencia 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, Christensen found more success in singles. The sophomore handed Erica Frommer a 6-0, 6-0 bagel for the No. 1 singles spot. With that, Christensen now has the most wins on the team with 13.

Doubles Trouble
No. 1 doubles pair Hanna McGuire and Shayna Becker were named Doubles Team of the Week by the Liberty League for their performances on Monday, marking the fourth time this season the two have earned the honor. This time around, McGuire and Becker teamed up to take down Emily Laurilliard and Melanie Franke 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, as Vassar went on to beat RPI 6-3 on Saturday. The duo has been dominant at one all season and now has an 8-6 overall mark with their most recent victory.

Up Next
The winners of Saturday's matches (Vassar vs. Skidmore and St. Lawrence vs. William Smith) will face one another in this year's 2016 Championship match, which is set for Sunday, May 8 at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.