Empire 8 Release

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Empire 8 Conference recognized Elmira College freshman Theo Tran '20 with the E8 Men's Tennis Player of the Week award for his sweep at the top spot in both singles and doubles against Oswego State, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Tran helped the Soaring Eagles sink the Lakers of Oswego State by a final score of 7-2 at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, March 4. It marked the first win of the season for EC and allowed the Purple and Gold to avenge their lone loss from the fall portion of the schedule.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Tran was one of four Soaring Eagles to sweep both singles and doubles matches, doing so at the No. 1 positions. First, he teamed up with Patrick Tracey '18 to roll the Lakers' top team of John Stanford and Dillon McDonald by an untarnished 8-0 score. Against Stanford in singles play, Tran overcame an early setback to win in a super tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-2, 10-2.

By winning at both No. 1 singles and doubles, Tran became the first Elmira freshman to accomplish that feat since five-time All-Conference honoree Gabe Cortes '11 did so against Nazareth College on April 6, 2008, en route to his 2008 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Award.

Tran and the Soaring Eagles will continue the non-conference portion of their schedule when they return to action on Friday, March 17, against the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology. The match is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.