The Skidmore College women's tennis team looks for an impressive eighth straight Liberty League crown, as it heads to Ithaca for the 2018 Liberty League Tournament, held at the Wheeler Tennis Courts on the campus of Ithaca from May 4-6.
 
Skidmore (13-5, 8-0 Liberty League), the top seed in the tournament, earns a bye into the league semifinal match this Saturday at 10 a.m., thanks to the new league tournament format. Skidmore will take on the winner between fourth-seeded William Smith (11-6, 4-3 Liberty League) and fifth-seeded RIT (10-6, 4-4 Liberty League), who play on Friday at 10 a.m. No. 3 seed St. Lawrence (9-10, 6-2 Liberty League) will take on sixth-seeded Rensselaer (10-5, 3-4 Liberty League) Friday in the second quarterfinal match at 2 p.m. The victor between St. Lawrence and Rensselaer will face No. 2 seed Vassar (13-5, 7-1 Liberty League) in the second semifinal at 2 p.m. The Liberty League Championship will take place on Sunday, May 6 at 10 a.m., with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
 
The Thoroughbreds, ranked 18^th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings, are looking for their 13^th league championship overall and eighth in a row. Skidmore has won the last 17 league tournament matches stretching back to the 2010-2011 season, and have won 59 of the last 60 matches in all league competitions.
 
This year's group is deep, with five players with 10 or more singles victories on the season. Freshman Risa Fukushige has had a solid rookie year so far, bursting on the scene as the No. 1 player in the lineup. She's tallied a 15-3 record in dual matches, which includes a pair of wins against ranked singles players, No. 8 Rachel Summers of Mary Washington and No. 25 Anna Maria Buraya of NYU. Overall, Fukushige is tied with the team lead with 17 victories.
 
Sophomore Ada Wiggins has had another strong year. The 2017 Liberty League Player of the Year has a 12-5 record in dual matches, splitting time at No 1 and No. 2. As a No. 1, she has a win against a ranked opponent, No. 27 Anjali Kashyap of Johns Hopkins. She sports a 17-10 overall record and advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 ITA Northeast Regional Championship in the fall semester.
 
Sophomore Renee Karchere-Sun is on the verge of another 20-win season. She sports a 17-10 record this year, including a 13-5 mark in dual action, primarily playing at third singles. She was 5-3 playing at No. 2 this season. Senior Michelle Fuca, a 2017 singles All-American and 2016 Doubles All-American, moved to No. 4 this season and sports a 12-5 record in dual matches, with a 15-9 record overall. Junior Laura Swenson and sophomore Jessica Ampel are also threats in singles action. Swenson has won eight matches in dual matches at No. 5, while Ampel has performed well down the stretch with a 6-1 record in dual matches.
 
In doubles, the team of Fukushige and Fuca has been dominant in the spring season. The pair teamed up for the first time on March 31, pulling a 9-7 upset over ninth-ranked Avery Wagman and Anya Ivenitsky of No. 8 Amherst. They've gone 8-1 down the stretch, defeating pairs from ranked opponents NYU, Vassar, and Brandeis, all at first doubles. Wiggins and Karchere-Sun are 4-3 together since the lineup change, with two wins against ranked opponents. Ampel and senior Alexa Goldberg have been a consistent pairing at No. 3, with a 9-5 record in dual matches.