Men's Tennis | 5/4/2021 3:48:35 PM
Five teams will vie for the 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Championship, which takes place from Wednesday, May 5 to Sunday, May 9, with all matches played at the higher seed. Houghton College is the regular season champion and top-seed.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship, which begins May 14-16, with first, second and third round action.
Final 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Championship Seeds
#1 – Houghton (8-0)
#2 – Nazareth (6-2)
#3 – St. John Fisher (4-4)
#4 – Alfred (2-6)
#5 – Utica (0-8)
The 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2021 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 5 – First Round
#5 Utica College at #4 Alfred University – 4 p.m.
Friday, May 7 - Semifinals
Winner of #4 Alfred/#5 Utica at #1 Houghton College – 2:30 p.m.
#3 St. John Fisher at #2 Nazareth College – 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 9 - Championship
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – TBA at Highest Remaining Seed
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.
Houghton earned its second Empire 8 regular season title and are attempting to win its first postseason title after finishing 8-0 in Empire 8 play during the regular season. Ethan Yung is 9-2 overall, including a 6-0 mark at first singles and 8-0 record in league play. Jake Fisler is also 8-0 in Empire 8 play while playing primarily at second singles. Matt Cicero finished 7-1 in Empire 8 play in singles as well. Fisler and Micah Schilke are 8-0 at first doubles in Empire 8 play, while Yung and Levi Webb are 8-0 at second doubles. Adam Brown and Ben McKay are 5-1 at third doubles.
The Golden Flyers are the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament after finishing 6-2 in the regular season. Dominic Vito enters the tournament with a perfect 7-0 mark, playing at fifth singles. Nathan Allen is 6-2 for the Golden Flyers at first singles, while Tommy Davlau is also 6-2. Isiah McMurray and Tyler Luong are both 5-3. Vito and Ryan Lalik are 5-2 in doubles to lead Nazareth. The Golden Flyers are looking for their first Empire 8 title and are making their first E8 Tourney appearance since 2016.
St. John Fisher is in the Empire 8 tournament for the ninth straight season and is looking for its first league championship. The Cardinals went 4-4 in league play. Sean Danahy has been a mainstay at first singles for the Cardinals in 2021. Kyle Morgans, Cameron Campbell, Jordan O’Connell, Anthony Mosolag and Andrew Cegielski are key contributors as well.
Alfred is making its second straight appearance in the Empire 8 Tournament. The fourth-seeded Saxons ended the regular season with a win over Utica on May 1. Wes Dennison leads the Saxons with a 7-3 record, including a 5-2 mark in league play. Dennison and Sam Cohen have combined to go 5-4 in doubles play. Issac Little, Ryan Brown, Logan Cross and Adam Shearer will look to compete for the Saxons.
Utica is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2007. Bradley Litz, Austin McGrain, Maki Medici, LJ Nuzzo, Joshua Palmer, Ethan Tremblay and Emil Obic will compete for the Pioneers.
Alfred won both meetings over first round opponent Utica earlier in the season. Nazareth defeated semifinal opponent St. John Fisher twice in April as well by scores of 8-1 and 6-3.
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.
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