ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's tennis team is hosting the 2012 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championships this weekend at the Wheeler Tennis Courts. The tournament schedule includes semifinal matches Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and will conclude with the championship match Sunday at 11 a.m. All duals will be played until they are decided, which means they will stop when one team gets the necessary five points. Top-seeded Stevens will face fourth-seeded St. John Fisher in the first semifinal, followed by second-seeded Nazareth against the host Ithaca Bombers.
Live Stats are available for all three matches this weekend.
ABOUT STEVENS
Stevens is the tournament's top seed after posting a 7-0 record in conference matches and a 9-7 overall mark. Stevens won the Empire 8 Tournament in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and is ranked 16th in the Northeast Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. First-singles player Chris Rosensteel is 16-9 overall and was a perfect 7-0 in conference duals. Andrew Riggs has an 18-1 overall record in singles play. Rosensteel has teamed with Shota Tasaki at first doubles and the tandem is 18-7 overall and 7-0 in the Empire 8. Rosensteel and Tasaki are ranked ninth in the region in doubles by the ITA.
ABOUT NAZARETH
Nazareth returns to the Empire 8 tournament for the third year in a row and eighth time in the tournament's 10-year history. The Golden Flyers were tournament finalists in 2006, and are the second-seed this year after going 6-1 in conference play. Ryan McCormick is 16-2 at first singles, and 18-4 overall this season. He also has a team-high 10 doubles victories. Jeremy Mancus and Erik Manske are 13-6 at second doubles, including a 6-1 mark in conference play. Mancus (14) and Manske (13) both have double-digit wins in singles play.
ABOUT ITHACA
The Bombers have captured five of the nine all-time Empire 8 Tournament championships, including the team's most recent title in 2009 which also earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Ithaca has advanced to the tournament championship match all nine years that the Empire 8 has conducted a men's tennis championship. The Bombers were 5-2 in Empire 8 duals and are 6-8 overall.
Justin Levine leads Ithaca with 10 wins in singles play, and both he and
Griffin Reid were 6-1 in singles matches during conference duals.
Justin Levine also has 10 overall doubles wins, and
Jimmy Newton has totaled nine wins in doubles matches this year.
ABOUT ST. JOHN FISHER
The Cardinals are making their first appearance in the Empire 8 tournament since 2008, and are the fourth seed in the tournament with a 4-3 Empire 8 record and 6-11 overall mark. Chris Maley and Sheldon Mitchell share the team lead in singles wins with seven. Pat McGrath and Tom Quinzi have seven doubles wins apiece, all of those coming as partners playing primarily at third doubles. John Whelehan is 6-8 in doubles play.
