Men's Tennis | 6/9/2024 7:52:00 PM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Men’s Tennis has had several individuals and teams excel at the conference, national and regional levels.
RIT was awarded the first E8 Men’s Tennis Championship in 2000 as the top team in the regular season, starting a streak of three straight league titles. In 2002, the league held its first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league championship. Five different institutions have claimed E8 titles, as Ithaca began a run of five championships over a seven-year span from 2003-09. Stevens joined the league in 2008, winning that title before running off all 10 championships in the decade of the 2010’s. Houghton University has won three of the last four Empire 8 titles (2021, 2023, 2024), sandwiched between Nazareth University’s lone championship in 2022.
Matthew Heinrich of Stevens was the lone four-time Empire 8 Player of the Year (2013-2016). Heinrich and fellow Stevens standout Marc Feliu Gomez in addition to Tyler Hernandez of St. John Fisher are the only two players in league history to claim Rookie and Player of the Year accolades in the same season. Heinrich was a five-time ITA All-American, earning three singles nods, while teaming with Ben Foran for a pair of doubles accolades in 2015 and 2016. Taylor Borda and Josh Rifkin of Ithaca also earned ITA All-American honors as a doubles team in 2010.
Heinrich, Chris Rosensteel, Shota Tasaki, and Arik Zeevy of Stevens, Borda and Chris Hayes of Ithaca, Ryan McCormick of Nazareth and Kevin Kulawiec of St. John Fisher were four-time All-Empire 8 first team selections.
Former Stevens head coach Steve Gachko led the Ducks to 11 Empire 8 titles and 10 Coach of the Year accolades. His Ducks won 10 straight E8 Championships from 2010-2019. Linda Gohagan of St. John Fisher has served as head coach for all 25 Empire 8 seasons to date. Ithaca head coach Bill Austin led the Bombers to five E8 Championships and was a four-time Coach of the Year, while Ann Nealon led the Tigers of RIT to four titles. Three different Houghton head coaches (Matthew Webb, Tonya McGraner, and Zach Shilvock) have claimed the last six E8 Coach of the Year honors.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Men’s Tennis 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, First, Second or Third Team All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Men’s Tennis 25th Anniversary Team
Nathan Allen, Nazareth
Taylor Borda, Ithaca
David Chachu, RIT
Gabe Cortes, Elmira
Chris Ciolino, Ithaca
Wes Davis, Ithaca
Marc Feliu Gomez, Stevens
Jake Fisler, Houghton
Colin Flynn, Ithaca
Ben Foran, Stevens
Chris Hayes, Ithaca
Matthew Heinrich, Stevens
Tyler Hernandez, St. John Fisher
Ben Klempka, Nazareth
Kevin Kulawiec, St. John Fisher
Michael Mangone, Nazareth
Ryan McCormick, Nazareth
Jimmy Newton, Stevens
Will Persson, Stevens
Danny Polk, Stevens
Josh Rifkin, Ithaca
Chris Rosensteel, Stevens
Scott Rubens, Ithaca
Jaimie Staerkle, Houghton
Micah Schilke, Houghton
Shota Tasaki, Stevens
Randy Vecchione, Alfred
Vladimir Vecher, Hartwick
Ethan Yung, Houghton
Levi Webb, Houghton
Arik Zeevy, Stevens
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
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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