ITHACA, N.Y.—The Skidmore College men's tennis team won its third straight and 12th overall Liberty League Championship Sunday at Cornell University with a 5-1 win over Rensselaer.

Skidmore (14-4), ranked 20th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III poll, earned the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. It will be the ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Thoroughbreds, who earned their third straight Liberty League title.

Skidmore earned the first doubles point as sophomores Lucas Pickering and Steven Koulouris picked up an 8-3 victory at number three. RPI (9-8) earned a big win at first doubles as sophomore Tristan Wise and senior Sherman Uyeno recorded an 8-5 victory over junior Kai Yuen Leung and senior Nick Tong, the second-ranked doubles team in the Northeast Region.

The Thoroughbreds picked up a crucial point at second doubles. Trailing 7-4, seniors Kit Sanderson and Jonah Epstein erased an earlier break and won three straight games to pull even. In the tiebreaker at 8-all, RPI senior Graham Harris and Alain Grullon Gonzalez opened an early 4-2 lead, but Sanderson and Epstein rallied with five straight points to take the tiebreaker, 7-4 and give Skidmore a 2-1 lead heading into singles.

After grabbing the momentum, Skidmore began rolling in singles as five of six players captured first sets. Pickering was the first to finish, picking up a 6-0, 6-2 win at fourth singles. Koulouris followed with a 6-3, 6-0 win at second singles. Sophomore Ted Berkowitz picked up the clinching victory, 6-2, 6-2 at sixth singles. Sanderson was also leading 6-4, 5-0 when the match concluded.
 
RPI vs Skidmore (May 08, 2016)
#20 Skidmore 5, RPI 1
May 08, 2016 at Ithaca, N.Y. (Reis Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Kai Yuen Leung (SKD) vs. Tristan Wise (RPI) 6-3, 3-3, unfinished

2. Steven Koulouris (SKD) def. Sherman Uyeno (RPI) 6-3, 6-0

3. Kit Sanderson (SKD) vs. Alain Grullon Gonzal (RPI) 6-4, 5-0, unfinished

4. Lucas Pickering (SKD) def. Stephen Baxter (RPI) 6-0, 6-2

5. Nick Tong (SKD) vs. Anthony Kim (RPI) 6-7 (5-7), 4-3, unfinished

6. Ted Berkowitz (SKD) def. Suryansh Patel (RPI) 6-2, 6-2

 

Doubles competition

1. Tristan Wise/Sherman Uyeno (RPI) def. Kai Yuen Leung/Nick Tong (SKD) 8-5

2. Kit Sanderson/Jonah Epstein (SKD) def. Alain Grullon Gonzal/Graham Harris (RPI) 9-8 (7-4)

3. Steven Koulouris/Lucas Pickering (SKD) def. Anthony Kim/Suryansh Patel (RPI) 8-3

 

Match Notes

RPI 9-8; Regional ranking #20

Skidmore 14-4; National ranking #20; Regional ranking #7

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,2,6)

Official: F. Thomas, M. Raynes T-3:25 A-75