WILTON, N.Y. – In a battle of top-20 teams, the 17^th-ranked Skidmore College women's tennis team suffered a hard-fought loss to eighth-ranked Amherst, falling by a 7-2 score in non-league action at the Wilton YMCA Saturday afternoon.

Skidmore falls to 9-3 and will return to league action in its next match, a road contest against Union on April 13. Amherst improves to 4-3 overall and will host Connecticut College next Wednesday.

Skidmore grabbed a point each in singles and doubles, but fought in a few other matches. In doubles, Risa Fukushige and Michelle Fuca teamed up for an impressive victory at first doubles, defeating ninth-ranked Avery Wagman and Anya Ivenitsky by a 9-7 score. In third doubles, Alexa Goldberg and Jessica Ampel fought valiantly but fell to Maddie Dewire and Camille Smukler by an 8-6 score.

Renee Karchere-Sun would pick up the lone singles point in the third slot. She was solid in a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Dewire. Ada Wiggins rallied after dropping the first set of her match at No. 2 against Vickie Ip, winning the second to force a crucial third set. In the third, Ip would prevail, with the final tally 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 in favor of the visitors.

"This was a good battle vs. a top ten opponent," said head coach Curt Speerschneider. "We had a lot of opportunities to make it a really tight match, especially in doubles. A lot of the matches were just a matter of executing some closing shots or not making as many unforced errors. We're playing with a lot of confidence and working extremely hard though, which is very important for this time of the year.  We're in a good spot going into the last month of the regular season."