Ithaca Men's Doubles Team Earns NCAA Tournament Berth
ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca men's tennis first doubles team of senior Taylor Borda (West Morris-Mendham/Chester, N.J.) and junior Josh Rifkin (Homestead/Fort Wayne, Ind.) is one of 16 teams invited to participate in the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships beginning Friday.
Ithaca will face the tandem of Isaac Stein and Max Woods from Washington University in St. Louis. Stein and Woods were ranked first among doubles teams in the Central Region according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of April 29, and third nationally (one spot ahead of Borda and Rifkin) in the only ITA national ranking of the year from Nov. 10. Stein and Woods are 25-9 on the season.
The finals are hosted by Oberlin College at the Don Hunsinger Courts in Oberlin, Ohio. The doubles bracket consists of 16 teams - four from each of four regions.
Borda and Rifkin posted a 26-4 doubles record this year and finished third in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Small College Championships in October. That finish made them Ithaca's first pair of individuals to earn All-American status in tennis, and they are also Ithaca's first ever pair of individuals to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The selection of teams and individuals for the championships is based on won-lost record, strength of schedule and eligibility and availability of student-athletes, as determined by the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Committee.
They were ranked fifth in the Northeast Region among doubles teams by the ITA and NCAA Regional Rankings in the final regular-season ranking. The tandem helped Ithaca to its highest-ever team ranking, 11th in the Northeast Region, by posting impressive records at first and second singles. Borda was 19-3 this season in singles and Rifkin was 19-4 in singles play.