2013 Women's Tennis Tournament Preview
The 2013 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Tournament field has been set, with four teams battling for a chance to win the postseason conference championship.
The tournament begins on Saturday, Oct. 19 with two semifinal matches. Top seeded Ithaca plays fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at 10 a.m. and second-seeded Nazareth will face third seed Elmira at 1 p.m. The winners will advance to the final match at 11am on Sunday, Oct. 20.
The matches will be played until a decision is secured; the first team to earn five victories ends the match.
All matches are scheduled for the outdoor courts on the campus of Ithaca College, with the indoor courts serving as an option in inclement weather.
Tournament Quick Facts
-The Empire 8 Athletic Conference will employ a four-team single elimination tournament format for the seventh straight year. From the 1999-2006 season the Empire 8 champion was determined by a single elimination tournament featuring all teams in the conference.
- Three of the four teams that qualified for the 2012 tournament return again this year. The absentee is Hartwick being replaced by Elmira.
- 2013 is the first year Elmira has qualified for the four-team tournament format.
- Ithaca, Nazareth and Stevens have qualified for the four-team tournament each year (2007-2013).
- Ithaca has advanced to the championship match every year, winning 11 team titles.
- The Bombers will be looking for its ninth straight team title in 2013.
- The championship match the last four years has featured Ithaca v Stevens, with the Bombers winning each year. With the Bombers and Ducks facing off in the semifinals there will be a new championship matchup in 2013.
- Nazareth last advanced to the finals in 2006. They also advanced to the finals in 99, 01, 02, 03 and 05.
- Stevens and Elmira have never won an E8 championship.
- Nazareth has won two teams titles (2001 and 2002).
- The last time Ithaca lost an E8 post-season tournament match was in 2004 in the final to Alfred. Since then they are currently riding a 18-match win streak in the tournament.