Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team continued its weekend road swing on Saturday afternoon when it took on Liberty League leading No. 19 Skidmore in the penultimate league match of the regular-season. The Bombers were unable to sustain their winning streak on Sunday, falling to the league leading Thoroughbreds in a 9-0 shutout. The loss drops IC's record to 4-3 in league play and 5-9, overall.
 
The Bombers entered the day with significant momentum. Riding a four-match winning streak, which included a huge 6-3 triumph at Union on Saturday in the first leg of this weekend's double-dip, IC entered the day with an upset on the mind that suddenly would have thrust IC in the mix for a potential bye in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament. Unfortunately, those aspirations did not come to fruition, as Skidmore controlled matters throughout in the shutout contest.
 
Doubles
1. JT Wynne/Noah Williamson (SKIDMORE) def. Minos Stavrakas/Colten Lavery (ITHACA) | 8-0
2. Suraj Mahtani/Travis Leaf (SKIDMORE) def. Michael Gardiner/Max Prestwich (ITHACA) | 8-6
3. Jack McClaren/Jason Keye (SKIDMORE) def. Sam McGrath/Liam Spiegel (ITHACA) | 8-5
 
Singles
1. JT Wynne (SKIDMORE) def. Minos Stavrakas (ITHACA) | 6-3, 6-4
2. Jack McClaren (SKIDMORE) def. Sam McGrath (ITHACA) | 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Noah Williamson (SKIDMORE) def. Michael Gardiner (ITHACA) | 6-1, 6-0
4. Suraj Mahtani (SKIDMORE) def. Colten Lavery (ITHACA) | 6-1, 6-4
5. Connor Biernat (SKIDMORE) def. Max Prestwich (ITHACA) | 6-3, 6-3
6. Tristian Thiebaut (SKIDMORE) def. Garrett Boleslav (ITHACA) | 6-3, 6-1
 
The final margin belied how competitive many of the individual matchups were throughout the day. The doubles session was tightly contested in the second and third slots, while many of the singles matchups were close despite all ending in two-set defeats.
 
Senior Michael Gardiner and junior Max Prestwich had the closest contest of the doubles session, taking Suraj Mahtani and Travis Leaf to a 7-6 margin, before the Thoroughbred duo scored the clinching game of the 8-6 win. Senior Sam McGrath and junior Liam Spiegel also gave Skidmore's Jack McClaren and Jason Keye all they could handle in an 8-5 loss. The first-doubles battle was a convincing Skidmore win, as the host's nationally-ranked All-America tandem of JT Wynne and Noah Williamson won 8-0.
 
McGrath had the closest battle of the singles session, nearly taking matters to a third-set in his second-singles match against McClaren. After dropping the opening set 6-3, he pushed McClaren to a second-set tiebreaker. Unfortunately, IC's senior came up just short in the extra points, with McClaren taking the clinching set with a 7-5 win in the breaker.
 
Stavrakas also turned in an inspired battle against one of the nation's best singles players in JT Wynne. The IC junior was able to score seven games off his counterpart on the day, but just came up a little short of getting over the hump for a set win. He fell 6-3, 6-4.
 
The bottom half of the lineup also held its own despite the losses. Lavery fell to Mahtani 6-1, 6-4, again nearly forcing a third-set, before Mahtani clinched things late in the second set. Prestwich dropped consecutive 6-3 sets to Skidmore's Connor Biernat, while Boleslav suffered his first Liberty League defeat in the sixth slot 6-3, 6-1 to Tristian Thiebaut.

Ithaca returns to the courts on Saturday, April 20, when it hosts RPI in the team's home finale at 2:00 p.m.