Vassar College Athletics

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 26, 2009) -- In the third place consolation match, Saint Lawrence came out on top over William Smith with a 6-3 victory. The Saints swept doubles play as well as the top three singles matches to clinch the win and secure a third-place finish in the Liberty League tournament.

After three matches in two days, the Herons close out their season with an 11-6 record and the Saints finish at 11-5. The squads previously played on April 11, when Saint Lawrence won 5-4.

Sophomore Stephanie Finn (Goldens Bridge, NY/John Jay) rebounded from a tough three-set loss to Skidmore’s Danika Robinson yesterday by clinching a 6-2, 6-0 win over Heron senior Chelsea Rauck (Bexley, OH/Columbus School for Girls). Finn also teamed up with junior Casey Gilman (Gloucester, MA/Holderness School) to knock off Rauck and Joanie Hilton (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy) 8-6 in doubles.

William Smith picked up two of its wins in three-set tiebreaks. At No. 4 Hilton defeated Saint Lawrence’s Elizabeth Karam (Waverly, PA/Scranton Prep) 6-2, 6-7, 10-6, and at No. 6 Heron Jess McCue (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) disposed of Barry Edgar (Darien, CT/Darien) 6-2, 2-6, 10-6.



POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 25, 2009) -- The women’s tennis Liberty League championship opened competition this morning with two consecutive sweeps on the Joss Courts. William Smith, seeded fourth in the tournament, knocked off No. 5 Union 9-0, and No. 3 St. Lawrence defeated RPI in similar fashion, 9-0. Neither team surrendered a single set in their respective victories. In the semi-final matches, Vassar defeated William Smith, 8-1, and Skidmore edged St. Lawrence, 5-4. Vassar and Skidmore will play for the Liberty League title on Sunday, while St. Lawrence and William Smith will play for third place. Both matches are scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

William Smith 9, Union 0
In the William Smith-Union match, the Dutchwomen stole just ten individual games throughout the six singles matches, and the Herons held 8-3 edges in all three doubles matches. Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week Casey Kennedy (Kenilworth, IL/Lake Forest Academy) continued her impressive play, knocking off Union’s Brittany Gilbert (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) in the No. 3 slot and teaming up with Carly Sisson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) to win 8-3 in doubles.

St. Lawrence 9, RPI 0
The St. Lawrence victory over RPI followed a similar script. The No. 3 doubles spot featured the closest match thus far, with Saints Barry Edgar (Darien, CT/Darien) and Chelsea Hubbell (Montclair, NJ/Montclair Kimberly Academy) holding an 8-5 advantage over Red Hawks Kimberly Viles (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga) and Krisha Subramanian (Niskayuna, NY/Academy of the Holy Names). Every singles match went to St. Lawrence in straight sets.

Semifinal Match: Skidmore 5, St. Lawrence 4
In the longest match of the day, a semifinal contest between Skidmore and St. Lawrence, the Thoroughbreds came out on top with a slim 5-4 advantage. St. Lawrence benefited early from two Skidmore defaults, at the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles slots, but a 5-2 performance in the remaining matches helped secure a third straight championship berth for Skidmore.

The teams split the two remaining doubles matches. At No. 1, Skidmore’s Danika Robison (South Burlington, VT/South Burlington) and Rachel Loeb (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek) beat St. Lawrence’s Stephanie Finn (Golden Bridge NY/John Jay) and Casey Gilman (Gloucester, MA/Holderness School) 8-3, but the Saints countered that win with an 8-2 win at the No. 2 slot.

The singles field featured two marathon three-set matches that could have gone either way. At No. 5, Saint junior Chelsea Hubbell (Montclair, NJ/Montclair Kimberly Academy) knocked off Caroline Sherman 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. But in No. 1 play, and in what was ultimately the deciding factor in the overall score, Skidmore’s Robison bounced back from dropping the first set to Finn 0-6 by winning the next two 6-3, 7-5. Her victory helped propel Skidmore into the finals and set a date with Vassar once again.

Fifth Place Match: Union 7, RPI 2
Union took home fifth place after defeating RPI, 7-2 in Saturday's final match. The Dutchwomen swept through doubles play, with Kathleen Rucci (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) and Brittany Miller (Scituate, MA/Scituate) edging the RPI duo of Progga Das (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) and Cora Wigen (Thousand Oaks, CA/Annie Wright), 9-7, in the No. 1 doubles match. Das and Wigen were accountable for the Red Hawks' wins on the day, at the No. 1 and 3 singles spots. At No. 5 singles, Lyndsay Wehrum (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) gave Union a hard-fought tiebreaker win (6-0, 5-7, 10-5).