Staerkle led his Highlanders to a dominant opening Empire 8 weekend where Houghton won 17 of their 18 matches. Staerkle had an undefeated week in first doubles beating Nazareth 8-3, Utica 8-1, while collecting an 8-5 non-conference victory over RIT. His success carried over into singles play where he did not lose a set versus Utica in second singles (6-0, 6-0) and then defeated Nazareth in first singles 6-2, 6-3.