NO. 13 SKIDMORE HANGS ON FOR

5-4 VICTORY OVER NO. 16 SAINTS

Mar. 30: The St. Lawrence University men’s tennis team, ranked 16th in the ITA Northeast Region, found itself in an outstanding match against No. 13 Skidmore on Sunday at the Newell Field House. Junior Jon Satkowski was fantastic for the Scarlet and Brown, reeling off wins at both No. 1 singles and doubles. However, the Thoroughbreds used a gritty performance from Jeremy Hogan at No. 6 singles, as he held off senior Amin Danai 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (0) to give Skidmore a 5-4 victory.

Satkowski and his partner, sophomore Chris McDonald, got the Saints off to a solid start with an 8-4 win over Skidmore’s Hogan and Yahia Imam at No. 1 doubles. However, the visitors answered the call with wins at both No. 2 and 3 doubles to take a 2-1 lead into the singles portion of the match.

The team of Carl-Eric Girardin and Cam Clark snuck past St. Lawrence’s rookie duo of Will Cook and Ryan Gillard, 8-6, while Lorenzo Cabrera and Spencer Cheng overmatched Danai and first year student Ren Gates, 8-1.

The Saints would get back into the match thanks to the top of their singles line-up, as Satkowski and fellow classmate Pete Abernethy won their matches in straight sets. Satkowski knocked off Girardin 6-4, 6-0, while Abernethy downed Imam 7-5, 6-4.

Skidmore would grab a 4-3 lead, though, when Cheng beat McDonald 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3 singles and Cabrera came from behind to beat Cook at the No. 4 spot, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Gillard, who has been one of the Saints’ most steady players this season, continued to shine in singles play with an energetic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win over TJ David to even the match once again, 4-4, with only the No. 6 singles match still on court.

With both teams looking on, Danai was able to overcome a 7-5 first set loss with an impressive 6-2 win in the second set against Hogan. Skidmore inched closer to the victory when Hogan broke Danai, earning the serve and a chance to win at 5-4. However, the Saints’ senior co-captain responded with a break of his own to even the third set at 5-5.

The two players would go on to exchange breaks yet again to send the match to a third set tie break. It was then that Hogan buckled down, making several impressive shots to close out the match in his favor and give Skidmore a 5-4 victory.

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of our team today, as we rallied around each other trying to upset one of the best teams in the Northeast,” said Saints head coach Jeremy Freeman. “I think we played very well this weekend and I’m looking forward to next weekend against Nazareth and Rochester.”

St. Lawrence will welcome the Golden Flyers and Yellowjackets to Canton, NY next Saturday and Sunday, April 5 and 6.

THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY EARNS

9-0 SWEEP OF SAINTS

Mar. 29: The St. Lawrence University men’s tennis team dropped its second straight dual match on Saturday, as the Saints took on one of the hottest teams in the country, No. 6 The College of New Jersey, in the Newell Field House. The Lions swept the Scarlet and Brown, 9-0, pushing St. Lawrence’s record to 4-4 in head-to-head contests this season.

The College of New Jersey opened the match with three convincing wins in doubles. Mike Klimchak and Roger Mosteller teamed to defeat junior Jon Satkowski and sophomore Chris McDonald, 8-4, at No. 1 doubles while Eric Ferriere and Jeremy Eckardt defeated the rookie duo of Will Cook and Ryan Gillard by the same score at No. 2 doubles.

The Lions earned a 3-0 lead when the team of Jonathan Yu and James Vance knocked off St. Lawrence’s No. 3 team of senior Amin Danai and first year student Ren Gates, 8-3.

Though St. Lawrence would play the College of New Jersey tough in singles competition, the Lions showed simply too much depth. Klimchak, ranked 4th in the Northeast region, battled back against Satkowski at No. 1 singles after dropping the first set to win the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Ferriere would handle junior Pete Abernethy at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-2, while Eckardt overmatched McDonald at No. 3, 6-1, 6-1.

Mosteller handed Cook a 6-2, 6-0 setback at the No. 4 spot, while Yu squeezed out a tough straight-set win over Gillard 6-4, 6-4. Jon Glinchman gave the Lions a sweep with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danai at No. 6 singles.

“The College of New Jersey has one of the best programs in the country on both the men’s and ladies side, and I thought we have a solid effort in every match,” said Saints head coach Jeremy Freeman. “We now turn our attention to conference play as we open up against a very tough Skidmore team tomorrow.”

The Saints will meet the Thoroughbreds in the 2008 Liberty League opener tomorrow, Sunday, March 30 in the Newell Field House.

GILLARD NAMED CONFERENCE

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Mar. 25: First-year Ryan Gillard was honored by the Liberty League on Monday after his performances last week during the St. Lawrence men’s tennis spring training trip in Hilton Head, South Carolina, helping him earn “Rookie of the Week” accolades.

Gillard (Keene, NH/Keene High School) continued his solid play this spring with a perfect 2-0 mark in singles play and a 3-0 record in doubles during the trip last week. The Keene, NH native and his partner swept their matches at No. 3 doubles against Mississippi College, St. Thomas and Brevard while defeating his singles opponents from each of the last two schools as well.