GENEVA, N.Y.-The Hobart College tennis team wrapped up the home potion of its schedule with a weekend split at the HWS Tennis Center. The Statesmen were bested by Skidmore 7-2 on Saturday and cruised to a 9-0 win over Bard this afternoon. Hobart is 11-6 overall this season with a 7-1 record in Geneva this year.
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The Statesmen are 5-2 in the Liberty League and will enter the final weekend of conference play in third place in the team standings. The Thoroughbreds are 8-0 and have locked up the top seed in the conference tournament. Rensselaer is second with a 6-1 record and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Hobart, should the two teams finished the year tied with a 6-2 record. The top six teams in the conference standings will compete in the Liberty League Tournament, May 4-6, in Ithaca, N.Y. The top two seeds will receive a bye to the semifinals.
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In Saturday's 7-2 loss to Skidmore, junior
Jonathan Atwater led the way for the Statesmen, logging a win in singles and doubles play. He teamed up with senior
Harry Nichols to defeat Travis Leaf and Lucas Pickering 8-3. The Thoroughbreds earned a 2-1 edge in the match after two tightly contested doubles contests at No. 1 and No. 3. Sophomore
Alan Dubrovsky and junior
Jonah Salita were bested 9-7 in the top spot, while first-year
Walker Anderson and junior
David Reinharz were edged 9-8 (7-4) at No. 3.
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Atwater tied the match at 2-2 thanks to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Travis Leaf at No. 3 singles. Skidmore rattled off five straight wins to secure the victory. Salita and Reinharz dropped three set matches at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively. JT Wynne slipped past Salita, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 while Reinharz was bested by Lucas Pickering 4-6, 6-1, 10-7.
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In today's match with the Raptors, Hobart jumped in front thanks to a sweep of doubles play. Sophomores
Joe Mallon and
Colin Molloy swept Zayd Normand and Elia Ryu 8-0 at No. 3. Juniors
Patrick Gray and Atwater won 8-3 in the No. 2 spot. In the No. 1 spot, Nichols, who was playing in his last match at the HWS Tennis Center, teamed with Anderson for an 8-5 win.
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Hobart lost only seven games in singles play. Anderson, Reinharz, Mallon, and Malloy all won 6-0, 6-0 at Nos. 3-6. Anderson is 15-6 this year with a 5-0 record at No. 3 singles. Today's win was the sixth win of the season for Reinharz, the fifth for Mallon, and the fourth of Molloy. Reinharz's win at No. 4 clinched the overall victory for the Statesmen. Atwater remained undefeated on the week with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Aiden Velasco in the second spot. Atwater has won his last seven matches and is 18-5 on the year. Dubrovsky collected his team leading 19th win of the season knocking off Satchel Fisher 6-2, 6-2. With 19 wins this season, Dubrovsky has matched his win total from last season. He is 7-4 in the top spot this year.
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Hobart will close out its regular season next Saturday, April 28, when it travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on Vassar.