COOK EARNS LIBERTY LEAGUE

"ROOKIE OF THE WEEK" HONORS

Sept. 17: St. Lawrence University first year student Will Cook was named the Liberty League’s “Rookie of the Week” for men’s tennis thanks to his performance in the 2007 Flower City Tournament hosted by Nazareth College.

Cook made an immediate impact for St. Lawrence in his first collegiate action this weekend at the Flower City Tournament. The Brookline , MA native finished with an undefeated 3-0 mark at No. 3 singles play, helping the Saints to only their second appearance in the tournament finals. Cook also finished with a 2-1 mark at No. 1 doubles with teammate Jon Satkowski.

The Saints will be in action again this weekend as they host the 2007 St. Lawrence University Fall Classic at the Sammis Tennis Courts on Saturday and Sunday, September 22nd and 23rd.

THOROUGHBREDS KNOCK OFF SAINTS

TO CLAIM FLOWER CITY TITLE

Sept. 16: Skidmore College used a sweep in doubles play to open up a 3-0 lead and never looked back, as the Thoroughbreds defeated the St. Lawrence University men's tennis team 5-1 in the Flower City Tournament finals on Sunday.

Skidmore's performance in doubles play put them in great shape to win the tournament title. The team of Carl-Eric Girardin and Jared Karlebach defeated St. Lawrence's duo of Jon Satkowski and Will Cook 8-3 in No. 1 doubles action, while Amin Danai and Chris McDonald were unable to solve Skidmore's TJ David and Yahia Imam (8-3). The Thoroughbreds completed the doubles sweep, as Jeremy Hogan and Cam Clark knocked off Christopher Tamm and Ryan Gillard 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.

St. Lawrence would get on the board when Cook, who finished 3-0 in singles play during his first collegiate tournament, defeated Hogan 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the No. 3 slot. However, Skidmore would put the match away at No.'s 1 and 2 singles, where Girardin defeated Satkowski (6-2, 6-3) and Karlebach defeated Abernethy (6-3, 1-6, 6-3).

The loss dropped the Saints to 2-1 on the young season. They will be in action again next weekend, as the Scarlet and Brown host the 2007 St. Lawrence University Fall Classic on Saturday and Sunday, September 22nd and 23rd.

SAINTS TO CHALLENGE SKIDMORE FOR 2007 FLOWER CITY TOURNEY TITLE

Sept. 15: The St. Lawrence University men's tennis team got their 2007 season underway in impressive fashion on Saturday at the season-opening Flower City Tournament hosted by Nazareth.

The Saints (2-0) defeated Ithaca in a very tight quarterfinals match by the score of 5-4 before handling Oneonta State by a 5-2 margin in the tournament semifinals. With the wins, the Scarlet and Brown advance to the 2007 Championship Match against Skidmore College, scheduled for Sunday morning.

In the season-opening match against the Bombers, St. Lawrence found themselves in a 2-1 hole after doubles play. Jon Satkowski and teammate Will Cook disposed of Alex Stoler and Josh Rifkin at No. 1 doubles in a fantastic match by the score of 9-8 (8). However, Ithaca's Taylor Borda and Danny Wolk defeated Amin Danai and Chris McDonald 8-1 and Liam Berkowitz and Jeff Buffum knocked off Chris Tamm and Ryan Gillard 8-6 to give their team a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.

The two teams proved to be very evenly matched, as they exchanged blows throughout singles. Satkowski downed Borda at the No. 1 position 6-2, 6-1, but Stoler beat Pete Abernethy at No. 2 6-3, 6-3 to re-establish Ithaca's lead. Cook and McDonald, playing No.'s 3 and 4 respectively, helped St. Lawrence pull even with Ithaca at 4-4, as they won their matches in straight sets while Berkowitz defeated Ren Gates 6-3, 6-3.

The final match, the No. 6 singles, proved to be the deciding point as Danai, the Saints senior captain, met Buffum for the victory. Though Buffum proved to be a formidable opponent, Danai earned the win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, and lifted St. Lawrence into the tournament semifinals.

The Saints again found themselves in a 2-1 hole heading to singles play against Oneonta in the semifinals, as Satkowski and Cook were again the only team to earn the victory at No. 1 doubles. The tandem beat Matt Steinhauser and Shane Raymo 8-0. However, Oneonta responded at No.'s 2 and 3 doubles, as Jon Dorin and Jeremy Goldberg beat Danai and McDonald 8-6, followed by Scott Bell and Jared Rosenberg handling Tamm and Gillard 8-4.

It was again in singles play that the Scarlet and Brown put away their opponent, as the Saints rallied by winning four consecutive matches to vault themselves into the finals by the score of 5-2. Satkowski got things started for St. Lawrence at No. 1 singles, where he beat Steinhauser 6-4, 6-2. His match proved to help shift the momentum, as the Saints then got wins from Abernethy, Cook, and Danai to defeat the Red Dragons, 5-2.

St. Lawrence will compete in the Flower City Tournament finals for only the second time on Sunday when they meet Liberty League foe Skidmore College.