ITHACA, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's tennis team made history this afternoon, capturing its first Liberty League Championship with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over #51 Vassar at the Reis Tennis Center. The Engineers' win marks the first time since the inception of the Liberty League women's tennis championship in 2003-04 that the title was claimed by a program other than Vassar or Skidmore.
The Engineers gained early momentum by securing the doubles point with wins at the top two positions. At No. 1 doubles,
Nicole Ridenour and
Anushka Jaiswal delivered a strong 6-3 victory, while
Kayla Wheeler and
Victoria Sarabosing followed with a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch the early advantage. Vassar earned the win at the third spot, but RPI carried a 1-0 lead into singles play.
After
Neha Saraswatula pocketed a quick 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles, Vassar responded by taking the top two singles matches, tying the match ant 2-2 and putting pressure back on the Engineers.
Juliette Ceas provided the next point with a pivotal 6-3, 6-3 victory to put the Engineers ahead. Moments later, Sarabosing sealed the championship at No. 4 singles with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph, clinching the decisive fourth point for the Engineers.
Sarabosing's performance throughout the weekend proved instrumental in RPI's championship run, as she was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after posting a perfect 4-0 record, contributing two doubles victories and two singles wins.
With a ticket punched to the NCAA tournament, Engineers will await their seeding and opening round location to be announced tomorrow at 12:00 pm at the NCAA Selection Show.
