Women's Tennis | 5/12/2016 2:20:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. — After winning the school's 11th straight Empire 8 conference championship, the student-athletes on the Ithaca College women's tennis team are traveling to Amherst, Mass.  for a first-round matchup with SUNY Geneseo.
 
The Bombers (14-7, 8-0 Empire 8) and Knights (14-3) will square off at 9 a.m. Friday in a first-round clash on the campus of Amherst College. Live stats are available and fans can follow every match with the Tournament Central page.
 
Ithaca won the Empire 8 conference title after defeating Stevens Institute of Technology 5-1 in the championship match. Ithaca earned an automatic bid to the tournament and brings a 6-9 record all-time in NCAA tournament competition.

The Bombers are one of 39 schools among the 49 selected for the tournament to qualify via automatic bid by capturing a conference title. It will be the team's 10th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Ithaca is looking to improve on its 6-9 record all-time in NCAA tournament action. During the 2014-15 season, Ithaca swept the College of Staten Island 5-0 before falling to Bowdoin 5-0 in the second round.

The winner of Ithaca/Geneseo moves on to the second-round on Saturday against Amherst, which is serving as the host school for the six-team regional.

Here are some notes on the two schools to get you ready for the first-round matchup:

SCOUTING ITHACA
(14-7 Overall) - Schedule/Roster/Stats

• Holding a 6-9 record in NCAA tournament competition, Ithaca is set to make their 10th-consecutive appearance in the national postseason after defeating Stevens Institute of Technology, 5-1 to claim their 11th Empire 8 crown and earn an automatic qualifying bid.
• Taking 85 of 123 matches, the Bombers have registered a 69.1 winning percentage in singles competition.
• Empire 8 Player of the Year Haley Kusak leads the way for Ithaca posting a 16-4 record while playing primarily from the first court.
• Shayna Ginster has logged an 11-4 mark in singles action, while Marni Blumenthal has posted an 11-4 mark and Caroline Dunn stands at 12-7. Jodi Grosberg rounds out a strong singles score, finishing the regular season 11-5.
• In doubles play, Blumenthal and Kusak went 4-1 from the first court, while Dunn and Ginister registered an 8-0 record to lift Ithaca to a 41-22 record in doubles on the year.
• The Bombers and SUNY Geneseo have only met on the courts twice in program history, with Ithaca winning both matches, however they two sides have not met since 1998.

SCOUTING SUNY GENESEO
(14-3 Overall) - Schedule/Roster/Stats
 

• SUNY Geneseo earned an automatic bid to NCAA tournament play by downing New Paltz, 5-0 to win the SUNYAC Championship and cap off an undefeated fall schedule that saw the Knights go 11-0. Holding a 4-6 record in NCAA action, this weekend will mark the fifth-consecutive and seventh overall trip to the national postseason for the Knights.
• A consistent force for SUNY Geneseo in singles play, Cat Crummey has posted an 18-4 mark from the first court, while Marylen Santos has tallied a 20-5 record in the second position. Playing out of the third and fourth court, Lauren Salzano has gone 15-4, while Maggie Hale and Sabrina Ferretti have logged marks of 12-7 and 6-2, respectively. Anika Pornpitaksuk has also seen time in singles competition, claiming a 2-4 mark from the third and fourth court.
• Owning a 21-6 record from the first position Crummey and Santos lead the Knights in doubles action. On the second court the duo of Salzano and Hale have notched a 12-7 mark, while Rachel Ollis and Corinne Heitmann have recorded a 5-2 mark in the third position.
• Geneseo is currently No. 14 in the Northeast Region rankings and Crummey is ranked No. 22 for singles.