Tournament Info
Semifinal A
#1 Ithaca (8-0, 8-0 E8) vs. #4 Hartwick (8-4, 5-3 E8)
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 10:30 A.M.
Houghton Outdoor Tennis Complex | Houghton, N.Y.
 
Semifinal B
#2 Stevens (8-1, 7-1 E8) vs. #3 Nazareth (6-3, 6-2 E8)
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 1:00 P.M.
Houghton Outdoor Tennis Complex | Houghton, N.Y.
 
Final
Winner of Semifinal A vs. Winner of Semifinal B
Saturday, October 15, 2016 | 10:30 A.M.
Houghton Outdoor Tennis Complex | Houghton, N.Y.
 
Tournament Coverage
Tournament Page
 
Last Time Out
Ithaca completed its perfect run through the regular season with a 9-0 sweep of St. John Fisher this past Saturday. It marked the Bombers second consecutive season in which they went unbeaten through conference play, while the win stretched their regular-season winning streak in E8 duals to 18 matches. As has been the case all year, the Bombers dominated play, conceding just 11 games in singles and four in doubles to coast to victory.
 
Unbeaten in Conference
When you go unbeaten through league play it is not to be unexpected that some players carried perfect records through the Empire 8 regular-season slate. However, the Bombers dominance in conference dual matches has been unprecedented over the past two seasons. Ithaca conceded only one point each in both singles and doubles play this season. This follows a run in 2015-16, which witnessed the Bombers relinquish only one point in doubles play. The IC machine could not be running at a higher level coming into this weekend's Empire 8 Championships.
 
Kusak Stamps Her Place Amongst Program's Best
Senior netter, Haley Kusak, has been the unquestioned leader of the program for the past three seasons. She has enjoyed another excellent fall campaign in 2016, going unbeaten in conference dual matches for the second consecutive year. The Pittsford, N.Y., product posted a 7-0 record in top-flight singles and marked a 6-0 record in top-flight doubles tilts. Kusak ranks all-alone in third place in program history in both singles and doubles wins with 56 and 60, respectively. She currently sits just three victories shy of tying Sarah Hollis '10 (59) for second place on the all-time singles wins list, while she is six wins shy of tying Christina Nunez '14 (66) for first on the all-time doubles chart.
 
Grosberg, Dunn, Overholt Crack Career Charts
Kusak is not the only active Ithaca netter on the program's all-time singles win list. Seniors, Jodi Grosberg and Maddie Overholt, as well as sophomore, Caroline Dunn, have also jumped up the program's career charts in recent weeks. Grosberg sits in a tie for 12^th in program history with 34 triumphs, while her .642 winning percentage in singles is the seventh-best mark in IC history. Dunn and Overholt are tied with each other for 19^th-place on the list with 21 career singles wins.
 
Tournament History Under Austin
Ithaca has dominated the Empire 8 Tournament since Bill Austin took the helm of the program in 2000. The Bombers have won 13 Empire 8 titles under Austin, which includes 11 consecutive triumphs in the conference tournament dating back to the 2005-06 season. IC will look to put an exclamation point on its unprecedented run with another title run in its final season of affiliation with the Empire 8 Conference.
 
Scouting Hartwick
Hartwick's first-year head coach, Peter Dumas, has the Hawks flying high in his inaugural season with the program. The squad made program history when it qualified for its second consecutive post-season berth, posting an 8-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in Empire 8 play this season. The Hawks will be looking to reverse the script from the regular season in its semifinal-round matchup against Bombers, as IC swept Hartwick 9-0 in a mid-week match on September 28. Heidi Rice has enjoyed a strong season, going 6-3 in the top-flight in dual matches. Third-flight netter, Kelly Napolitano, has also enjoyed a stellar year with an 8-2 mark. The Hawks' most successful tandem is the partnership of Napolitano with Kelli Ryan. The duo enters the weekend with an 8-3 record in the second flight on the fall.
 
Scouting Stevens
The lone blemish on Ducks' schedule this season has come at the hands of Ithaca, as IC dispatched Stevens 7-2 in its season opener on September 4. Since that time, Stevens has steamrolled through the rest of its conference slate, conceding no more than three points against any other E8 opponent. The Ducks have been a common tournament foe for the Bombers over recent years, as the two sides have met in the final in each of the prior two seasons and six of the last seven, overall. Stevens has quality throughout its lineup, as Jillian Morneau navigated a perfect 7-0 record in E8 play, which included a triumph in the sixth flight against Ithaca. The doubles tandem of Katrina Guido and Sydney Zoretic scored the other victory in the match against IC, taking the second-flight match with Ithaca's Brianna Ruback and Taylor Ginestro.
 
Scouting Nazareth
Nazareth is the third seed at this weekend's championships, posting a 6-3 overall record and a 6-2 mark in Empire 8 play this fall. The Golden Flyers fell in a 9-0 sweep at the rackets of the Bombers on Saturday, October 1. Nazareth's only other loss in conference play came to the Stevens' squad it will face during Friday's semifinal round. Allison Friends and Marisa Joyce have been a dynamic combo in the middle flights for the Golden Flyers, posting 7-2 and 6-3 marks, respectively, in second- and third-flight action.