POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's tennis team hit the road on Saturday afternoon to face another Liberty League powerhouse in nationally-ranked No. 31 Vassar. Although IC was able to post some competitive results against the talented Brewers, Vassar ultimately proved too much for the young Bombers, sending IC to its third straight Liberty League defeat. Ithaca is now 3-6 on the year and 1-4 in League action.
 
The Bombers lone win came in the second-singles bout as junior Kathryn Shaffer picked up a thrilling three-set result against Tara Edwards. Shaffer showed excellent resolve after struggling out of the gates in a 6-1 opening set loss. She battled back with a 6-4 win in the second frame to force a third-set super-breaker. She ultimately won the exciting back-and-forth battle, outlasting Edwards 11-9.
 
IC also had a competitive bout at fifth-singles, as freshman Sara Steinberg turned in a competitive match against Morgane Flournoy. IC's rookie actually led out of the gates with a convincing 6-2 win the opening set. Unfortunately, she was unable to maintain the momentum. Flournoy forced a third-set super-breaker with a 6-3 decision in the second set, before dropping a competitive super-breaker 10-8.
 
The Bombers nearly were able to score a team point in doubles as well, as juniors Kathryn Shaffer and Caroline Dunn combined for a thrilling battle at first-doubles. The duo gave Edwards and Flournoy all they could handle, forcing a tiebreaker with the matchup all-square at 8-8. Unfortunately, the Brewers top tandem was able to prevail in the extra session, scoring a 7-2 decision in the tiebreak to lift Vassar to a 3-0 doubles start.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Thursday, April 5, when it welcomes RIT for a 4:00 p.m. match that will be held either indoors at Glazer Arena inside the A&E Center or outdoors at the Wheeler Tennis Complex.