NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team got its final regular-season tune-up ahead of this coming weekend's Empire 8 Tournament on Sunday afternoon when it traveled to face Connecticut College in a non-conference match. The Bombers improved their record to 12-5 on the year with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Camels.
 
Ithaca jumped out to an early advantage with a pair of victories in the doubles portion of the competition. IC scored wins in the top two flights to take a 2-0 lead to begin the match.
 
The grouping of Minos Stavrakas and Stefan Lazarevic got things started with an 8-3 win over Connecticut's Daniel Maffa and Will Cannon in the top-flight matchup. The middle duo of Wes Davis and Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos bested the Camels' pair of Charlie Williams and Ben Sachs in a closer 8-6 battle.
 
The home side prevented IC from taking a commanding 3-0 lead into singles play, scoring a momentum-changing victory in the third doubles flight. The Camels' pair of Johnny Cissel and Patrick Farrell battled Ithaca's tandem of Nate Wolf and Colten Lavery in a tight bout, narrowly pulling out an 8-7 decision.
 
The Bombers quickly widened its lead back to two team points at 3-1 with a victory in the fifth flight. Wolf controlled play from the outset, defeating Connecticut's Scott Brown in 6-2, 6-2 straight sets. Stavrakas put IC on the brink of clinching the match in the top flight, scoring a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Charlie Williams. The win lifted Ithaca to a 4-2 advantage.
 
Connecticut College battled back to tie the match at 4-4 with wins in the third and sixth flights, setting up a winner-take-all battle in the second flight. Ithaca's Wes Davis scored his 50^th career victory, pulling into a tie for eighth on the program's all-time list with a thrilling three-set win over Connecticut's Daniel Maffa. He took the opening set 7-5, but Maffa leveled the match with a 6-4 victory in the second set. Davis was able to score a pair of crucial breaks to win the third set 6-3, clinching the match for the Bombers.
 
Doubles
1. Minos Stavrakas/Stefan Lazarevic (ITHACA) def. Daniel Maffa/Will Cannon (CC) | 8-3
2. Wes Davis/Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos (ITHACA) def. Charlie Williams/Ben Sachs (CC) | 8-6
3. Johnny Cissel/Patrick Farrell (CC) def. Nate Wolf/Colten Lavery (ITHACA) | 8-7
 
Singles
1. Minos Stavrakas (ITHACA) def. Charlie Williams (CC) | 7-5, 6-4
2. Wes Davis (ITHACA) def. Daniel Maffa (CC) | 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
3. Will Cannon (CC) def. Colten Lavery (ITHACA) |7-5, 6-2
4. Ben Sachs (CC) def. Max Prestwich (ITHACA) | 6-3, 6-4
5. Nate Wolf (ITHACA) def. Scott Brown (CC) | 6-2, 6-2
6. Patrick Farrell (CC) def. Stefan Lazarevic (ITHACA) | 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
 
Ithaca returns to action on Friday, May 5, with an Empire 8 Semifinal matchup against third-seeded St. John Fisher College. This year's tournament host is Nazareth College. Start time for the semifinal matches is still to be determined.