Men's Tennis | 5/1/2026 8:18:38 PM
Top West Division seeds St. John Fisher University (11-3) and Alfred University (14-5) advanced to the 2026 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship match after earning victories in semifinal action from A Copi Tennis & Sports Center in Augusta, ME, hosted by Thomas College on Friday, May 1. St. John Fisher recorded a 4-0 victory over East Division No. 2 seed Norwich University, while West No. 2 Alfred defeated East Division No. 1 seed and host Thomas, 4-0.
St. John Fisher will take on Alfred in the 2026 Empire 8 Championship match from A Copi Tennis & Sports Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship, which begins May 8-10, with first, second and third round action. St. John Fisher won both regular season matchups between the two programs, 5-2 on April 10 and 4-3 on April 18.
Both teams are in the Empire 8 Championship match for the first time in program history.
WEST NO. 2 ALFRED 4, EAST NO. 1 THOMAS 0
The No. 2 West seeded Alfred University men's tennis team earned the doubles point with two quick wins before earning three singles wins to advance to its first E8 title match in program history.
The Saxons (14-5, 6-2 Empire 8), who now advance to the Empire Championship, defeated the Terriers (13-3, 5-0 Empire 8) 4-0 with three matches unfinished.
Breece Erickson (Goshen, IN / Bethany Christian) and
André López Jiménez (Mexico City, Mexico, PrepaTec Esmeralda) notched the first doubles win for AU, taking a confident 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles and extending their streak to 15.
Ricardo Alvarez Janik (La Orotava, Spain / Colegio Casa Azul) and
Anlun Zwerver (Koog Aan De Zaan, The Netherlands / Blaise Pascal College) delivered the doubles clinching point with their 6-3 win in their No. 1 doubles match.
In singles action, the Saxons saw their first point come by way of Zwerver with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot. López Jiménez followed, picking up a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles. After his doubles and singles victory, López Jiménez extended his program record to 37 total wins in a season. [Breece] Erickson, who currently occupies the number two spot for the program, clinched the shutout for AU as he took the No. 3 singles win in a tie breaker set, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. He now has 34 total wins on the season.
Thomas ends their season with a 13-3 mark.
WEST NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 4, EAST NO. 1 NORWICH 0
The St. John Fisher men's tennis team entered the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament having already accomplished more than enough to be proud of this season.
Longest winning streak in program history. First 10-win season since 2008. First-ever undefeated regular-season record (8-0) against Empire 8 opponents.
That list will include at least two more lines after St. John Fisher, the No. 1 seed from the conference's West Division, took down East Division No. 2 seed Norwich 4-0 for its first E8 Tournament win since 2007 on Friday at the A. Copi Tennis & Sports Center. Now winners of 10 consecutive matches, the Cardinals (11-3) will face West No. 2 seed Alfred at 1 p.m. on Saturday in their first-ever appearance in the conference championship. With a win, they would stamp their ticket to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Cardinals earned the doubles point against Norwich with victories from freshman Finn Whitaker and senior Sean Brown (second doubles) and freshmen Sebastian Dix and Matthew Lincoln (third doubles).
Fisher finished off the dual victory with singles wins from junior Tyler Hernandez (first singles), Lincoln (third singles) and Dix (fourth singles). All three players won in straight sets.
Norwich finished the season with a 13-4 overall mark.
2026 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
Saturday, April 25 - First Round (East Division)
East No. 2 Norwich University defeated East No. 3 SUNY Delhi, 6-1 – BOX SCORE
Tuesday, April 28 - First Round (West Division) - Match at St. Bonaventure University
West No. 2 Alfred defeated West No. 3 SUNY Oswego, 4-0 – BOX SCORE
Friday, May 1 - Semifinals (at East Division Top-Seed) – A Copi Tennis & Sports Center, Augusta, ME
West No. 2 Alfred defeated East No. 1 Thomas, 4-0 – LIVE SCORING
West No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated East No. 2 Norwich, 4-0 – VIDEO/LIVE SCORING
Saturday, May 2 - Championship (at East Division Top-Seed) – A Copi Tennis & Sports Center, Augusta, ME
West No. 2 Alfred vs. West No. 1 St. John Fisher – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE SCORING