SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's tennis team looks to reclaim the Liberty League crown this weekend, as the top-seeded Thoroughbreds compete in the Liberty League Tournament, beginning with the semifinal on Saturday.
The Thoroughbreds, earning a first-round bye, will await the #4 Ithaca/ #5 Vassar winner on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded RPI will face the #3 Hobart/ #6 Union winner at 5 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet for the Liberty League title Sunday at 2 p.m. All matches will take place at Cornell University's Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca, N.Y.
Skidmore (13-5), ranked 17th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings, finished undefeated in Liberty League matches for the fifth season in a row, outscoring its league opponents by an impressive 65-7 margin. The Thoroughbreds will look for revenge after last season's disappointing loss in the Liberty League Championship match to RPI. Skidmore has been a part of the last eight championship matches, and aims to win its fifth championship in six years this weekend.
Leading the way is Liberty League Player of the Year hopeful
JT Wynne. Wynne, a two-time All-American, enjoyed a perfect league season, finishing 7-0 in league matches. During the season, Wynne has knocked off four ranked opponents this season, including fifth-ranked Alan Dubrovsky of Hobart and 26
th-ranked Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez of RPI. He's 18-7 in all matches this season, leading the team in singles wins.
Fellow junior
Jack McClaren has 10 wins this season. Earlier in the year, McClaren ripped off a five-match win streak, which included a win against Jayson Fung of then-No. 3 Amherst. McClaren and classmate
Jason Keye have formed to be a reliable doubles tandem at No. 3, going 14-6 in all matches. The pair has won nine of their last 10 matches, including wins against ranked opponents in MIT, Hobart, RPI, Southwestern and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Senior
Travis Leaf and sophomore
Suraj Mahtani is emerging as a solid doubles pair down the stretch this season. The second doubles pair has an 8-5 overall record, but has won six of the last seven matches, including an upset of the 13
th-ranked duo in the country in Yassine Derbani and Nick Aney of Gustavus Adolphus. Individually, Mahtani is a fixture in the Skidmore lineup with a 13-9 overall record. He's gone 6-2 over the last eight matches.
The freshman class have brought a lift to the Thoroughbred lineup this season.
Noah Williamson has shown flashes in the middle of the singles lineup, with nine victories. He's proved to be a solid partner with Wynne, as the pair went 8-5 at the top doubles spot. They also have some impressive victories, defeating the eighth-ranked pair from Hobart, the third-ranked pair from Gustavus Adolphus, and the fourth-ranked duo from CalTech.
Connor Biernat leads all rookies in singles wins with 11, winning his last five matches between the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup.
Tristan Thiebaut has won his last six singles matches, sporting a 10-3 overall record.
