Ithaca Hosts Empire 8 Men's Tennis Tournament
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's tennis team will host the 2011 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship Tournament this weekend at Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca. The winner of the tournament will earn automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships later this month. Semifinal matches will be played simultaneously, beginning Saturday at noon. Sunday's championship match will begin at 10 a.m. Live Stats will be available for all tournament matches, and the tournament program is available to download.
ABOUT STEVENS | Men's Tennis Website
Stevens is the tournament's top seed after posting a 6-0 record in conference matches and an 11-5 overall mark. Stevens won the Empire 8 Tournament in 2008 and 2010 and has advanced to the finals all three previous years that it has participated in the Empire 8. The Ducks are led by Chris Rosensteel, who has a 10-4 record at first singles and was 4-0 in conference matches at first singles. Arik Zeevy has played the second-singles position and is 11-4 overall and 5-0 in conference dual matches. Rosensteel has teamed with Shota Tasaki at first doubles and the tandem is 12-4 overall and 6-0 in the Empire 8.
ABOUT ITHACA | Men's Tennis Website
The Bombers have captured five of the eight 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. The Bombers are 7-1 in Empire 8 matches and 9-7 overall. Ithaca is paced by Josh Rifkin, a regionally-ranked player by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in both singles and doubles play. Rifkin is 22-8 overall in singles play and advanced to the finals of the ITA Northeast Region Championship earlier this year. Rifkin has teamed with Jimmy Newton to compile a 24-6 overall record in doubles play. That duo reached the semifinals at the ITA Northeast Regionals. Ithaca's second doubles team of Josh Berggrun and David Andersen is 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8.
ABOUT RIT | Men's Tennis Website
The Tigers are the tournament's third seed with a 6-2 mark in the Empire 8 and 7-6 record overall. RIT won the tournament title in 2005 and joins Ithaca as the only program to appear in all nine tournaments. The Tigers are led by Neville Billimoria, who has a 9-2 record at third singles. Will Abisalih is 7-5 at second singles and both players are 6-2 in Empire 8 duals. Abisalih and Tennyson Saucedo have racked up an 8-5 record at first doubles and the second-doubles team of Billimoria and Larry Hall is 8-3, with a 7-1 record in conference matches.
ABOUT NAZARETH | Men's Tennis Website
Nazareth returns to the Empire 8 tournament for the second year in a row and seventh time in nine years. The Golden Flyers finished fourth in the Empire 8 standings with a 5-3 conference record and an 8-10 overall mark. Jeremy Mancus is 13-8 at third singles this year and was 6-2 in conference matches. Adam Landry was 10-7 at fourth singles and 7-1 in conference play. Ryan McCormick was 6-2 in conference play at first singles and partnered with Bret Beaver to form Nazareth's first doubles team, which was 5-3 in conference matches.