Ithaca, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's tennis team (10-7) defeated RIT (7-7) 5-2 in an Empire 8 Tournament semifinal match Saturday afternoon at Reis Tennis Center. Top-seeded Stevens (12-5) defeated Nazareth (8-11) 5-0 in the other semifinal, and will face Ithaca in the championship match Sunday at 10 a.m. The winner of that match will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship.
Ithaca rallied back to win four consecutive singles matches and clinch the victory. All four singles wins were in straight sets. Junior Jimmy Newton (Florida Virtual School/Englewood, Fla.) got the singles streak started with a 6-2, 6-0 win at second singles and sophomore Josh Berggrun (Orange/Moreland Hills, Ohio) followed with a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Senior Josh Rifkin (Homestead/Ft. Wayne, Ind.) was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at first singles. The clinching point came at fifth singles where freshman Griffin Reid (Bolton/Bolton, Conn.) won 6-2, 6-4. Newton and Rifkin were 8-6 winners at first doubles. RIT won at the second and third doubles positions.
In the other semifinal, Stevens rallied from deficits at second and third doubles and pulled out those matches to complete a doubles sweep. The Ducks then got convincing wins by Chris Rosensteel and Arik Zeevy at the first two singles position to clinch the victory.
05/07/11 at Ithaca, N.Y.
(Reis Tennis Center)
Ithaca 5, RIT 2
Singles competition
1. Josh RIFKIN (IC) def. Tennyson Saucedo (RIT) 6-0, 6-3
2. Jimmy NEWTON (IC) def. Will Abisalih (RIT) 6-2, 6-0
3. Josh BERGGRUN (IC) def. Neville Bilimoria (RIT) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kyle RIETHER (IC) vs. Larry Hall (RIT) 3-6, 2-1, unfinished
5. Griffin REID (IC) def. Max Bogue (RIT) 6-2, 6-4
6. David ANDERSEN (IC) vs. Amos Babtiste (RIT) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Jimmy NEWTON/Josh RIFKIN (IC) def. Will Abisalih/Tennyson Saucedo (RIT) 8-6
2. Neville Bilimoria/Larry Hall (RIT) def. David ANDERSEN/Josh BERGGRUN (IC) 9-8 (7-1)
3. Amos Babtiste/Max Bogue (RIT) def. Dan LEVINE/Kyle RIETHER (IC) 8-3
Team Records:
Ithaca 10-7, RIT 7-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,1,5,6)
Empire 8 Semifinal
Stevens 5, Nazareth 0
Singles competition
1. Chris Rosensteel (SIT) def. Ryan McCormick (NAZ) 6-1, 6-4
2. Arik Zeevy (SIT) def. Bret Beaver (NAZ) 6-0, 6-3
3. Jason Ringstad (SIT) vs. Jeremy Mancus (NAZ) 3-6, 6-3, unfinished
4. Shota Tasaki (SIT) vs. Adam Landry (NAZ) 2-1, unfinished
5. Erik Manske (NAZ) vs. Jay Lee (SIT) no result
6. Tom Wood (NAZ) vs. Lopburi Sasinin (SIT) no result
Doubles competition
1. Chris Rosensteel/Shota Tasaki (SIT) def. Bret Beaver/Ryan McCormick (NAZ) 8-1
2. Jason Ringstad/Arik Zeevy (SIT) def. Adam Landry/Jeremy Mancus (NAZ) 8-5
3. Jay Lee/Lopburi Sasinin (SIT) def. Erik Manske/Tom Wood (NAZ) 9-7
Match Notes:
Nazareth 8-11, Stevens 12-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1)
Empire 8 Semifinal