POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 23, 2017) – The Vassar College men's tennis team celebrated Senior Day Sunday morning in style as the Brewers knocked off St. Lawrence University 7-2 to clinch a spot in the Liberty League Tournament in play from Josselyn Tennis Courts in conference action.

"We are obviously thrilled to be returning to the Liberty League Tournament," said head coach Alex Wong. "It was one of the goals that we set at the beginning of the year, and through hard work, we were able to earn one of those spots."

The Brewers needed to come-from-behind in the match on Sunday afternoon, as St. Lawrence earned two of the three doubles' matches. Vassar did take a 1-0 lead early on, with Nick Litsky and Nick Zuczek defeating Alex Roslin and Spencer Whitmire of SLU 8-4. The Saints (4-11) responded with a win at No. 2 doubles to even the match at one, as Eric Tecce and Kevin Frommer knocked of freshman Allen Sokolov and Juan Felipe Laso 8-5.

In the final doubles match, freshman Jeremy Auh and senior Alexander Luckmann were edged by Elliot Solandt and Marco Amendola to give St. Lawrence the extra doubles point going into singles. That was the last time the Saints would lead though, as Vassar dominated singles play up and down the ladder.

Laso would win his final match ever on Joss Courts at No. 3 singles, as he didn't drop a game in earning the 6-0, 6-0 victory over Amendola to make the match score 2-2. The victory was Laso's 13^th of the season in singles, as he has gone 11-7 at No.3 for Vassar this year.

VC pulled ahead 3-2 in the match ledger with a win by Zamir Birnbach, as the freshman knocked off Whitmire 6-1, 6-0 in No. 6 singles. The victory for Birnbach was his second Liberty League win of the year, while upping his singles mark to 5-1. At No. 1, Litsky ended his home career with yet another win for Vassar, as he chalked up a straight set victory over Tecce 6-0, 6-3. Litsky now has 17 wins on the year, which is a team-best.

Up 4-2 in the match and needing just one win to clinch the spot in the Liberty League playoffs, freshman Allen Sokolov would get the job done at No. 2 singles. The newcomer had no problems with Kevin Frommer of St. Lawrence, posting a 6-2, 6-1 victory, as he has now won seven of his last 10 individual matches.

With the match clinched, moving Vassar to 4-2 in the Liberty League and assuring VC of a spot in the postseason, all attention was moved to making sure the Brewers finished out Senior Day strong. Auh cruised past Roslin 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 to make the score 6-2, but the most exciting match came at No. 5 singles and involved one of VC's three seniors.

With everyone cheering Luckmann on at the end, the tall fourth-year player for the Brewers bounced back from a 6-1 loss in the first set to outlast Elliot Solandt 1-6, 7-5 and 12-10 in the super-tiebreaker, sending everyone home happy.

"It was great to earn that opportunity by beating a really good St. Lawrence team," said Wong. "They have traditionally played very good doubles and today was no different. We didn't respond as well as we would have liked during the doubles, but I'm glad we did a good job in the singles. Winning all of the singles was a great way to finish off the match."

"I also want to recognize our three seniors. I am so proud of all that they have accomplished," said Wong. "Lucky (Alexander Luckmann) has been the ultimate team player and a real leader on and off the court. Juan Felipe (Laso) is such a good competitor and really the emotional leader for the team. And (Nick) Litsky has been a great No. 1 player. I never felt that his ranking truly reflected how good a player he is and he will be missed because he always set the tone for us with his play."

"We are thrilled with the win, we need to stay focused and have a good week of practice as we get ready for a very strong Hobart team. We will enjoy this win over Saint Lawrence, but we need to move on quickly to our next match."
VC will now focus on its match with Hobart College next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Geneva, NY in another big Liberty League contest.

Vassar College 7, St. Lawrence University 2

Apr 23, 2017 at Poughkeepsie, NY (Joss Courts)

Singles competition
1. Nick Litsky (VCMT) def. Eric Tecce (10) 6-0, 6-3
2. Allen Sokolov (VCMT) def. Kevin Frommer (10) 6-2, 6-1
3. Juan Felipe Laso (VCMT) def. Marco Amendola (10) 6-0, 6-0
4. Jeremy Auh (VCMT) def. Alec Roslin (10) 6-1, 6-4
5. Alexander Luckmann (VCMT) def. Elliot Solandt (10) 1-6, 7-5, 12-10
6. Zamir Birnbach (VCMT) def. Spencer Whitmire (10) 6-1, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
1. Elliot Solandt/Marco Amendola (10) def. Jeremy Auh/Alexander Luckmann (VCMT) 9-7
2. Eric Tecce/Kevin Frommer (10) def. Allen Sokolov/Juan Felipe Laso (VCMT) 8-5
3. Nick Litsky/Nick Zuczek (VCMT) def. Alec Roslin/Spencer Whitmire (10) 8-4
 
Match Notes
St. Lawrence University 4-11
Vassar College 11-8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,6,1,2,4,5)
T-4 hours A-40