TROY, N.Y. – The third-seeded Skidmore College men's tennis team avenged its only loss from the season in earning a 5-0 victory over top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute en route to the Liberty League championship Sunday on RPI's Sharp Courts.

The Thoroughbreds (6-1) earned the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Skidmore earned its eighth Liberty League title in the past 10 years that the championship was contested and 15th overall since the league's founding in 1995-96 as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA). The loss was the first of the season for Rensselaer (5-1), whose season start was delayed until April 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skidmore turned the tables in doubles play this time, In the previous meeting, a 6-3 RPI win on April 24, the Engineers captured two of three doubles matches, both in tiebreakers. This time, the Thoroughbreds swept the doubles matches. As it did in the semifinal win over second-seeded Hobart, the third doubles team of senior Kevin Ha and freshman Zachary Portnoy, put Skidmore up 1-0 with a convincing 8-2 victory. Ha, the team's lone senior, was selected as the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer, for sparking the Thoroughbred doubles teams in two tournament road wins.

The first doubles team of junior Noah Williamson and sophomore Sergiu Celebidachi avenged a tiebreaker loss earlier in the season with an 8-7 win over the RPI pair of Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez and Andrew Imrie. The second doubles team of junior Connor Biernat and sophomore Brendan Jimenez completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory.

With a commanding lead heading into singles play, Skidmore got off to a strong start, winning first sets in four of the six singles matches. Portnoy pulled the Thoroughbreds to within a point of the title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at third singles over Peter Lohrbach. Junior Tristan Thiebaut picked up the clincher with a 6-2, 6-2 win at sixth singles over Phoenix Tamaoki.

In the unfinished singles matches, RPI was leading at first and fifth singles while Skidmore took first sets at second and fourth singles.
 
The full NCAA Tournament bracket will be unveiled on Monday.