Women's Tennis punches ticket to 2016 Skyline Tournament
New York, NY--- The Sage Colleges' women's tennis team earned the No. 4 seed in the 2016 Skyline Conference Women's Tennis Tournament. Sage will travel to No. 1 seeded Farmingdale State College on Friday, October 28 for a 4 p.m. semifinal match with the winner advancing to the Skyline Championship on October 30.
Sage posted a record of 4-3 in the league this fall, while standing at 7-5 before Sunday's non-conference match at Bard. Sage brings a four-match win streak into the 1 p.m. match at Bard. Now in his third season at the helm of the program, Tom Fashouer has the Gators returning to the league tournament after last qualifying in 2014.
Leading the squad this season has been a number of veteran performers and a talented lineup of newcomers. Graduate performer Melissa Estremera (Millbrook, NY/Millbrook) and junior Lindsey Tolman (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) have guided the Gators as captains. Estremera is now 7-4 this season, while playing at second singles.
Junior twins Shanessa Mendoza (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) and Shanice Mendoza (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) have had opponents seeing double this fall. Shanice, who is playing tennis for Sage for the first time this fall, boasts a team-best 8-3 singles record with an impressive 5-1 mark in Skyline play, while holding down the No. 6 spot on the singles ladder. Shanessa, who returned to the team after a season away, is now 7-4 with a 7-3 mark while competing at third singles.
Additional support for the team has come from the likes of sophomore Gabby Vaisey (Chestertown, NY/North Warren) and junior Samantha Dibbell (Hunter, NY/Tannersville Central) as the pair is 1-0 at No. 3 doubles with one another. Rookie Rebecca Jackson (Saugerties, NY/John A. Coleman) is now 2-0 on the year for the Gators. Senior Alex Faas (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) has also helped the Gators this fall with her skills as has sophomore JoAnna Riven (Albany, NY/Bishop Maggin).
Sage hosted the Rams on September 24 in the regular-season falling, 7-2. The Rams are 12-4 overall and went 6-1 in the league to earn the top seed. Yeshiva University is seeded second and brings a 9-1 overall record after also going 6-1 in the conference into the other semifinal match with No. 3 seeded St. Joseph's College-Long Island (9-3, 6-1 Skyline). The two semifinal victors will meet on October 30 at the home court of the highest remaining seeded team with the league's champion garnering the automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship in May.
