Box Score | RPI Athletics on Instagram

ITHACA, N.Y. – Sophomore Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez earned a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 clinching victory at first singles as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) defeated top-seeded Skidmore College, 5-2, and captured the 2018 Liberty League Men's Tennis Championship while earning the program's first-ever NCAA championship bid.
 
Second-seeded RPI (15-3) had advanced to the championship match in 2014, 2015 and 2016, falling to Skidmore (12-6) each time. The Engineers used a fast start in doubles play to propel the team to its first title in the Liberty League's 23-year history.
 
The second doubles team of McKinley Grimes and Zack Ebenfeld got RPI on the board with an 8-3 victory. The freshmen doubles team of Clay Thompson and Brian Niguidula soon followed with an 8-2 win at the third position. The first doubles pair of Castillo-Sanchez and Andrew Imrie, ranked eighth in the Northeast Region, clinched the sweep with an 8-5 win over Steven Koulouris and JT Wynne, ranked fifth in the region.
 
The Thoroughbreds put up a strong fight in singles play. Wynne and senior Ted Berkowitz earned straight-set victories at second and fifth singles to pull Skidmore within 3-2.
 
Niguidula then moved the Engineers within a point of the championship with a 6-4, 6-3 win at fourth singles.
 
With matches at third and sixth singles moving into third sets, Castillo-Sanchez outlasted Koulouris in a grueling first set, 7-6 (7-4). He trailed 2-1 in the second set before running off five straight games to clinch the title for the Engineers
 
#27 RPI 5, #25 Skidmore 2
May 06, 2018 at Ithaca, N.Y. (Reis Tennis Center)
 
DOUBLES:
1. S. Castillo-Sanchez/Andrew Imrie (RPI) def. Steven Koulouris/JT Wynne (SKD) 8-5
2. McKinley Grimes/Zack Ebenfeld (RPI) def. Travis Leaf/Suraj Mahtani (SKD) 8-3
3. Clay Thompson/Brian Niguidula (RPI) def. Jack McClaren/Jason Keye (SKD) 8-2
 
SINGLES:
1. S. Castillo-Sanchez (RPI) def. Steven Koulouris (SKD) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
2. JT Wynne (SKD) def. Andrew Imrie (RPI) 6-4, 6-1
3. Travis Leaf (SKD) vs. Clay Thompson (RPI) 6-2, 2-6, 3-3, unfinished
4. Brian Niguidula (RPI) def. Jack McClaren (SKD) 6-4, 6-3
5. Ted Berkowitz (SKD) def. McKinley Grimes (RPI) 6-3, 6-4
6. Suraj Mahtani (SKD) vs. Zack Ebenfeld (RPI) 1-6, 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
 
MATCH NOTES:
RPI 15-3; National ranking #27; Regional ranking #10
Skidmore 12-6; National ranking #25; Regional ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,5,4,1)
2018 Liberty League Men's Tennis Championship
RPI wins first Liberty League men's tennis title; earns first NCAA bid.
Official: F. Thomas Rechichi T-3:10 A-50