Men's Tennis | 5/2/2025 3:58:26 PM
Top-seeds Nazareth University (12-7) and SUNY Oswego (10-3) advanced to the 2025 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship match after earning victories in semifinal action from Annette Shapiro Courts on the campus of Nazareth University on Friday, May 2. Nazareth recorded a 5-0 victory over East Division No. 2 seed Norwich University, while West No. 2 Oswego defeated East Division No. 1 seed Thomas College, 7-2.
Nazareth will take on Oswego in the 2025 Empire 8 Championship match from Nazareth at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship, which begins May 9-11, with first, second and third round action. The two teams split a pair of regular season matches, with Nazareth earning a 6-3 win on home court and Oswego pulling out a 5-4 win on its home court.
Nazareth is looking for its second league title and first since 2022, while Oswego is looking for its first championship in its first season as a league member.
WEST NO. 1 NAZARETH 5, EAST NO. 2 NORWICH 0
The top seed in the West Division (Nazareth), took down the second seed in the East Division with a 5-0 sweep in the Empire 8 Semifinals on Friday at the Annette Shapiro Courts. Nazareth improves to 12-7 overall, while Norwich drops to 10-4.
The Golden Flyers set the tone early by taking all three doubles matches.
Max Funiciello and
Griffin Bond cruised at first doubles 8-0.
Chris Benedict and
Noah Britton broke a 5-5 tie by winning the next three games to take second doubles 8-5.
Pierre Ntonga and
David Tuller were victorious at third doubles 8-2.
Benedict (fifth singles) and Tuller (sixth singles) were each winners by a 6-0, 6-0 score to close out the match.
WEST NO. 2 SUNY OSWEGO 7, EAST NO. 1 THOMAS 2
West No. 2 seed SUNY Oswego clinched the second E8 Semifinal by scoring the first five points, three at doubles and first two singles positions.
The first doubles team of Tony Marcano and Matthew Mannara earned an 8-2 win, while the second doubles squad of Tyler Yuhn and Colin Byer won by the same score. At third doubles, Austin Davis and Miguel Garcia broke open a tight miatch to win 8-5 and give Oswego a 3-0 lead heading into singles
Mannara made it for 4-0 for Oswego in singles at the second position, with a 6-1, 6-2 win, while Marcano clinched the match for the Lakers with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at first singles.
Thomas finished the season with an 11-4 overall mark.
2025 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
Saturday, April 26 - First Round (East Division)
East No. 2 Norwich defeated East No. 3 SUNY Delhi, 8-1
Tuesday, April 29 - First Round (West Division)
West No. 2 SUNY Oswego defeated West No. 3 Houghton, 6-1
Friday, May 2 - Semifinals (at Nazareth) – INDOOR OR OUTDOOR
West No. 1 Nazareth defeated East No. 2 Norwich, 5-0
West No. 2 SUNY Oswego defeated East No. 1 Thomas, 7-2
Saturday, May 3 - Championship (at Nazareth) – INDOOR OR OUTDOOR
West No. 2 Oswego at West No. 1 Nazareth – 1 p.m.
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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