Men's tennis nets huge win

Men’s tennis knocked off the defending national champion, No. 5 Williams College, 5-4 on April 19. The 26th-ranked Thoroughbreds (9-6) took a 2-1 lead after doubles, behind an 8-0 win at number-one by Oliver Loutsenko ’14 and Danny Knight ’14. Loutsenko also squeezed out a three-set win at number-one singles, beating the fourth-ranked singles player in the Northeast region, Matt Micheli, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. With the match tied 4-4, it came down Gabe Steerman ’14, who nailed three wins at number-six singles. Steerman defeated Brian Astrachan, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), to seal the victory for Skidmore. The team travels to Middlebury College for a 4 p.m. match Tuesday, April 22.

Women’s tennis toppled the University of Rochester, 8-1, in the April 19 final regular-season match. The Thoroughbreds, ranked 14th in the country, dropped just two sets in eight matches, sweeping doubles and winning five of six singles matches. In doubles, Lee Ford ’14 and Madeline Benn ’17 picked up an 8-1 win at number one, Rachel Plevinsky ’14 and Zoe Valella ’15 were 8-2 winners at number two and Melissa Hirsch ’14 and Yumi Karlshoej ’15 made quick work of their opponents at number three, winning 8-0. Ford, Valella and Plevinsky all notched individual wins at number-one, number-three and number-four singles, respectively. The team competes at the Liberty League championships Saturday through Monday, April 26-28, at St. Lawrence University.

Golf placed second in the Palamountain Invite, four strokes behind RPI with a score of 301-311—612. Makenzie Denver ’16 earned medalist honors for the second straight tournament, tying for second with 73-74—147. Mitchell Campbell ’17 tied for sixth (74-76—150), two strokes ahead of teammate Will Caro ’15, who tied for eighth with 76-76-152. Tim Manwaring ’16 earned another top-10 finish for the Thoroughbreds, tying for 10th with 74-79—153. The team begins its defense of its Liberty League title in a match play semifinal against RPI Saturday, April 26.

Mackenzie Whiting ’15 delivered a walk-off grand slam to lift softball over St. Lawrence University, 6-4, in game one of its doubleheader on April 18. Down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Thoroughbreds’ (10-14, 4-4 Liberty League) first three batters of the inning reached on singles to set up Whiting’s heroics. In game two, Skidmore pulled out to a 7-3 lead, but St. Lawrence rallied for three runs in the fifth and four runs in the seventh to pull away for the win, 11-8. Lauren Gorstein  ’17 was 3-for-4 with three RBI and Abby Shea ’15 went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. The team hosts Williams College for a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 22.

Baseball split its April 19 doubleheader with Union College after dropping both games on Friday. Jeff Spindel ’14 went six innings, allowing one run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts, propelling the team to a 4-1 win. Mat Marino ’17 went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Alex Pavelock ’14 drove in two runs. In the second game, the Dutchmen took an early lead, but the Thoroughbreds (7-18, 2-12 Liberty League) battled back with five runs in the seventh inning. Pavelock had a two-run homer and Marco Baratta ’16 and Nick Barra ’15 had back-to-back RBI doubles. Trailing 9-6 in the ninth, Marino tripled and later scored on an infield error, but Union managed to hang on for the 9-7 decision. Marino finished 4-for-5 with two triples and three runs, Pavelock was 2-for-5 with two RBI and Spindel went 3-for-5 with two RBI.  The team goes on the road to face MCLA at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 22.

Women’s lacrosse fought its way back from a five-goal second-half deficit to pull within one of RPI, but came up just short, falling 15-14. The team suffered a 12-4 setback against No. 3 Amherst College in its first game of the week. Trailing RPI 11-6 in the second half, the Thoroughbreds (4-10, 3-4 Liberty League) outscored the Engineers 8-4 over the final 28 minutes, but they could not find the equalizer. Spencer Morgan ’15 led the charge, tallying four second-half goals. Tyler Phillips ’17 had a team-high five points with four goals and an assist and Brittney Dioneda ’15 extended her scoring streak to four games with a pair of goals.  The team hosts Clarkson University at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25.

Men’s lacrosse had its three-game winning streak snapped in an 18-10 road loss to Middlebury College. Kevin Mulvey ’16 had another dominant offensive performance, scoring four goals and adding two assists. Brock Bakewell ’15 potted a pair of goals and Josh Trachtenberg extended his point streak to seven games with two goals and an assist. Quinn Hawkins ’14 scored a hat trick in the team’s second game of the week, but the Thoroughbreds (4-10, 1-4 Liberty League) were held off by No. 1 RIT. The team closes out its season at home against Union College at noon Saturday, April 26. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques