Women's Tennis | 10/15/2019 8:05:44 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – St. John Fisher College, Nazareth College, The Sage Colleges and Houghton College will vie for the 2019 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Championship, which takes place on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19, hosted by Nazareth. Top-seed St. John Fisher will face No. 4 seed Houghton, while No. 2 seed Nazareth will take on third-seeded Sage in the semifinal matches Friday from Mendon Racquet Club at 11 a.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2019 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 10 a.m.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship, which takes place May 18-23 at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
St. John Fisher enters the tournament as the top seed for the first time in program history. The Cardinals won the 2019 Empire 8 regular season title after going 6-0 in league play. Nazareth, the two seed, finished 5-1 in league play, while Sage went 4-2 and Houghton was 3-3.
The Cardinals wrapped up the regular season in fine fashion with an 8-1 win over Sage on Oct. 12 to earn their first Empire 8 regular season title. Kaili Saffran, the reigning Empire 8 Player of the Week, has won all nine of her matches at first singles this season. The Cardinals as a whole won 30 of 36 singles matches in league play and went 15-3 in doubles competition. Saffran, Cassidy Bell, Cydney Bell, Mikayla Santulli, Zuzanna Pociecha, Amanda Thongsirimonghoun and Jacqueline Chouinard all excelled for Fisher in league play. St. John Fisher is in the Empire 8 tournament for the third straight season and is looking for its first league championship.
Nazareth enters the tournament riding a two-match winning streak, having ended the regular season with a 9-0 win at Utica on Oct. 12. Maelah Nadeau, Brooke Murphy, Lauren Carr, Marissa Towers, Caroline Breitweiser and Caroline Keegan combined to finish 28-8 in league play this season. The first doubles duo of Nadeau and Murphy and third doubles pairing of Theresa Hecht and Towers both went 5-1 in E8 play. Nadeau was the Empire 8 Player of the Week on Sept. 16, while Murphy garnered the same honor on Oct. 7. The Golden Flyers are looking for their fourth Empire 8 title, having also won in 2001, 2002 and most recently in 2017.
Sage is making its first appearance in the Empire 8 Tournament. The Gators went 10-3 during the regular season and 4-2 in league play. Sage ended the regular season with a 9-0 win over Hartwick on Oct. 13. Abbey Clobridge, Rebecca Jackson, Sadie Dunne, Taylor Gillespie, Kaitlin Banks and Molly Cochrane have served as mainstays throughout the singles lineup this season. The second doubles duo of Gillespie and Jackson is 11-1 this season, while the third doubles pairing of Cochrane and Alison Trudo is 10-2. Dunne was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week on Sept. 3, while Clobridge was honored on Sept. 30.
Houghton advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament in dramatic fashion, defeating Alfred, 7-2 on Saturday to claim the fourth seed in the tournament. The Highlanders have won three straight matches entering the league tournament. Elise Swanson, Erin Haley, Catie Moore, Alicia Cline, Tessa Brown and Maddison Soth have represented the Highlanders in singles play this season. The first doubles duo of Swanson and Moore went 6-0 in league play. Swanson was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week on Sept. 9. The Highlanders are making their second appearance in the league championship tournament, also advancing in 2017.
Earlier this season, St. John Fisher defeated Houghton, 7-2 on Sept. 25, while Nazareth defeated Sage, 7-2 on Oct. 5.
This weekend's championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8). If there is inclement weather, matches will be played indoors at Mendon Racquet Club.
2019 Empire 8 Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
Friday, October 18 - Semifinals
(Indoors at Mendon Racquet Club, 80 Topsin Dr., Pittsford, N.Y. 14534 - WEBSITE)
#1 St. John Fisher College vs. #4 Houghton College - 11 a.m.
#2 Nazareth College vs. #3 The Sage Colleges -
11 a.m.
Saturday, October 19 - Championship
(Indoor or Outdoor)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – 10 a.m.
Format: Dual match is played until decision (5 points) Three doubles matches are followed by six singles matches. No-ad scoring for both singles and doubles matches. Singles matches will play two out of three sets. Doubles play eight pro set with a twelve-point tiebreaker at 7-all.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram