Mobile, Ala.—The Skidmore College doubles team of Nataly Mendoza and Lee Ford finished fourth at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile.
In the opening round, the pair upset second seeded Kristin Lim and Crystal Lim from Claremont Mudd Scripps in the quarterfinals 6-2, 7-5. Mendoza and Ford controlled the first set and came back from a 5-1 deficit in the second set to earn the victory. The Thoroughbreds ran in to the eventual champions and #3 seed team of Clark and Dawson from Emory in the semifinal, losing 6-0, 6-0.
In the 3rd place match, Skidmore fell to fourth seeded Chicago 6-3, 6-3 in a hard fought match. The pair battled to deuce in most sets but were unable to take control.
“Nataly and Lee represented Skidmore and the Northeast Region very well on this national stage” said coach Curt Speerschneider. “To come in as the relative unknown and finish 4th out of 8 of the top teams in the country is pretty remarkable. I’m really excited at the fact that that they’ve only been playing together for a relatively short amount of time. This experience will undoubtedly make them stronger in the future.”Skidmore doubles team takes fourth at USTA/ITA championships
Adirondack Tennis 