BRUNSWICK, MAINE – The Skidmore College men's tennis team were unable to recover from a strong Bowdoin start, as the Thoroughbreds fell to the host Polar Bears 5-1 in the NCAA Regional final, held at the Pickard Courts Saturday afternoon.
Skidmore finishes its season at 16-6. The 16 dual wins were the most by a Thoroughbred squad since the 2008-09 season. Bowdoin (17-4) will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinal, held at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich. on May 20.
The Thoroughbreds, ranked 17
th in the latest national Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, gave the No. 8 Polar Bears all it could handle. In doubles, the Skidmore pair of
Travis Leaf and
Suraj Mahtani fell to Justin Wang and Evan Fortier, 8-4. The Thoroughbreds fell at No. 1 and No. 3 by the same 8-6 score;
JT Wynne and
Noah Williamson fell at the top spot, while
Jason Keye and
Jack McClaren fell at No. 3.
Wynne picked up Skidmore's lone point in a big way, as the Northeast Region's No. 4 player took care of the nation's top player entering the spring and last year's NCAA Individual National Champion in Grant Urken, 6-2, 6-1. In other matches, McClaren (No. 2) and Williamson (No. 4) took the first set of their matches, as the Thoroughbreds seemed poised for a comeback. Unfortunately for Skidmore, Bowdoin took the final points at fifth and third singles to clinch the dual match.
Although Skidmore is eliminated from the team tournament, the Thoroughbreds will still be represented in Michigan on May 24-26. That's because Wynne and Williamson were selected to compete in the NCAA Division III Individual Tournament. Wynne was named as a singles competitor, while Wynne and Williamson, named as a first alternate, were added to the tournament field on Friday, competing as a doubles pair. It's the third consecutive season that Wynne has competed in the doubles tournament and first as a singles competitor. It's the first NCAA Individual Tournament appearance for Williamson.
