POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 2, 2019) – The Brewers will travel to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY to compete for the Liberty League Championship from Saturday, May 4 to Sunday, May 5. The Brewers received a bye in the first round, and will face the winner of #6 Ithaca vs. #3 William Smith in the semifinals Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Reis Tennis Center.
The Brewers (13-6 overall, 7-1 Liberty League) have a .875 winning percentage this season and are coming off of a strong 9-0 victory over the RIT Tigers. They were able to secure the #2 seed after conceding only one conference loss to Skidmore College. Earlier this season, the Brewers shut out the Bombers, winning 9-0, and secured a solid 7-2 win over the Herons. The Herons' two victories over the Brewers were at No. 2 doubles and No. 2 singles.
Vassar currently holds an impressive .854 win percentage in singles conference play. Sophomore
Frances Cornwall (Poway, CA) leads the Brewers at the No. 1 spot, going 19-5 overall and 7-1 in the Liberty League. Junior
Tara Edwards (Littleton, CO) and senior
Morgane Flournoy (Grosse Pointe, MI) have found similar success this season, both also going 7-1 in the Liberty League. First year
Melina Stavropoulos (Atherton, CA) follows closely behind, posting a 6-1 in-conference record. The Brewers have also dominated doubles play. The team of Cornwall and Edwards has gone 13-7 overall this season and 6-1 in-conference at the No. 1 position.
Ashley Fair (Laguna Beach, CA) and
Morgane Flournoy have gone 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the Liberty League.
Earlier this season, the Herons had topped the Bombers 7-2, with Ithaca's two points coming from No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles. William Smith (13-6 overall, 6-2 Liberty League) has an impressive squad, led in singles play by Maggie Bonomo (21-6 overall, 6-2 Liberty League) and Leland Barclay (17-8 overall, 5-3 Liberty League). The team of Kate Foley and Allie Perron has dominated doubles play, going 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the Liberty League at the No. 2 spot.
Charlotte Engebrecht and Katelyn Nguyen have also been strong, going 15-6 this season.
The Bombers (3-13 overall, 3-5 Liberty League) are led in singles play by Brianna Ruback at the No. 1 spot. Ruback went 11-9 for the season and 4-4 in conference play. Liberty League doubles play was led by the team of Caroline Dunn and Kathryn Shaffer, who went 5-3 at the No. 1 position and secured one of Ithaca's two victories over the Herons.
The winner between Vassar and Ithaca/William Smith will move on to the Liberty League Championship match on Sunday, May 5 at 2:00 p.m.
