ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Ithaca College women's tennis team hosts the Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championships this weekend at the Wheeler Tennis Courts and Glazer Arena on Saturday and Sunday. The four-team championship tournament will be conducted in dual-match format, and the champion will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships in May. Ithaca is the eight-time defending tournament champion and top seed in this year's event.

In Saturday's semifinal round, top-seeded Ithaca takes on fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the first semifinal, which will begin at 10 a.m. In the second semifinal, which will begin at 1 p.m., second-seeded Nazareth takes on third-seeded Elmira. Sunday's championship match begins at 11 a.m.

All dual matches will be played until a winning team is determined. Once the clinching team score of five points is reached, all remaining matches will be scored as unfinished. If weather permits, matches will be conducted outdoors at the Wheeler Tennis Courts (six courts). If there is inclement weather, matches will be played indoors at Glazer Arena (four courts). Doubles matches will be contested first, followed by singles matches.

ABOUT THE ITHACA BOMBERS (8-0, 7-0 Empire 8)

Ithaca seeks its ninth consecutive Empire 8 tournament title this weekend, and the Bombers carry an 18-match tournament winning streak dating back to the 2005 championship event. Ithaca is the top seed in the tournament after posting a perfect 7-0 record in the conference regular season. The Bombers dropped just one team point in those seven victories, winning six by a 9-0 score. Cristina Nunez leads the Bombers with 11 overall singles victories and Alyssa Steinweis has totaled 15 doubles wins.

ABOUT THE NAZARETH GOLDEN FLYERS (6-4, 5-2 Empire 8)

Nazareth was 5-2 in the Empire 8 regular season, and earned the tournament's second seed by virtue of its 7-2 win over Elmira on Oct. 5. The Golden Flyers were 6-4 overall in dual-match competition. Against other tournament competition, Nazareth lost 5-4 to Stevens, and 9-0 to Ithaca. Alison Tepas leads Nazareth with 12 singles wins and won the first-singles bracket at last week's New York State tournament. Ami Petosa has eight doubles wins to lead Nazareth in that category.

ABOUT THE ELMIRA SOARING EAGLES (6-2, 5-2 Empire 8)

Elmira is the tournament's third seed with a 5-2 conference record and a 6-2 overall dual-match record. Elmira defeated Stevens 5-3 on Oct. 6. In other dual matches against tournament teams, Elmira fell 7-2 against Nazareth and 9-0 against Ithaca. Ayaka Yoshino leads Elmira with seven overall singles victories. Yoshino and Danielle Levine lead Elmira in doubles play with an 8-2 record.

ABOUT THE STEVENS DUCKS (8-2, 5-2 Empire 8)

Stevens is the tournament's fourth seed and has dropped dual matches to Ithaca (5-1) and Elmira (5-3), and has a 5-4 win over Nazareth on its record. The Ducks were 5-2 in conference play and are 8-2 overall. The doubles team of Lisa Tessitore and Jessica Bourque won the ITA Northeast Region doubles championship and placed seventh at the ITA Small College Championships. They have a 17-2 overall record as a doubles team.

For more tournament information, see the Empire8.com preview story.