Skidmore defeats TCNJ

Skidmore advanced to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Regional Final with a 5-2 victory over The College of New Jersey in a match played on the Proctor Tennis Courts at Middlebury College. The 20th-ranked Thoroughbreds (15-4) will play third-ranked Middlebury in the final on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m., while the Lions finish their season at 11-7.

Skidmore secured a 2-1 advantage at the conclusion of doubles. The Thoroughbred duo of Kai Yuen Leung and Nick Tong posted an 8-2 victory at No. 1 over Mike Stanley and Jack August. A few minutes later, Skidmore doubled its lead when Lucas Pickering and Steven Koulouris tallied an 8-3 victory over Tim Gavornik and Matt Puig in the third flight. TCNJ got on the scoreboard when the #2 duo of Pierce Cooper and Mitchel Sanders tallied a narrow 9-8 (5) triumph over Skidmore’s Jonah Epstein and Kit Sanderson.

During the singles matches, the Thoroughbreds secured the first two points at No. 11 and No. 55. In the top spot, Yuen Leung defeated Cooper by scores of 6-2, 6-1, while Tong gave Skidmore a 4-1 lead with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Chris D’Agostino at #5.

Stanley pulled the Lions to within two (4-2) via a 6-0, 7-5 win at No. 44 over Pickering, but Ted Berkowitz clinched the match for Skidmore with a 6-1, 6-1 win in the sixth slot over Omar Bokhari.

The remaining two matches went unfinished. At No. 2, Koulouris won the opening set 7-5 and took the first game of the second set against August, while Sanders grabbed the first set in the third flight for the Lions over Sanderson, but trailed 2-1 in the second set.