ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's tennis team challenges both Ithaca College and Lycoming College to matches over the weekend. The contest against the Bombers is schedule to start at 12:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center tennis domes on Saturday, April 1, and the tilt against the Warriors is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, April 2. 

LAST TIME OUT: Elmira made quick work of Keystone College last time out, dispatching the Giants by a 9-0 final score in just one hour. The shutout victory was the third straight by the Soaring Eagles, which extended their winning streak to four straight and pushed the Purple and Gold's overall record above .500 for the first time this season (4-3). EC began the match with a 2-0 lead before the first ball was even struck, as the Giants traveled to Murray Athletic Center with just five players. Patrick Tracey '18 and Chris Konow '18 teamed up for an 8-0 win at first doubles, which was followed by an 8-1 victory at the second spot by Anthony Colavito '20 and Yaniv Kogan '18. Singles action proved to be much of the same, as Elmira dropped just one game in the five singles match en route to the win. In total, Elmira won 76-of-78 games played.

E8 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: EC's Patrick Tracey '18 was honored by the Empire 8 Conference this past Monday by being named the league's Player of the Week, an honor the Bardonia, New York, native took home for the first time in his three-year career. Tracey enters today's E8 opener with four consecutive singles victories and five straight wins in doubles action. He shares the team lead in both singles and doubles victories this season with five apiece.

E8 CONFERENCE OPENER: Today's contest between Elmira and Ithaca will be the first Empire 8 Conference contest for either team this season. E8-opening wins have been hard to come by for the Soaring Eagles, who are 2-15 in league-opening matches since 2000. However, the Purple and Gold head into this afternoon's bout with back-to-back E8-opening wins, including a 9-0 victory over Utica College last season.

SCOUTING ITHACA: The Bombers enters Saturday's conference-opener with a 4-3 overall record. Ithaca filled its non-conference schedule with top-notch competition at the regional and national level, much of that having to do with the team's week-long getaway to Orlando, Florida, two weeks ago. The Bombers are coming off a 7-2 loss to Hobart College last time out, but IC sports boast wins over St. Lawrence University and RPI of the Liberty League, as well as Colby-Sawyer College and Division II Bloomsburg University. Freshman Minos Stavrakas has been phenomenal for Ithaca since his arrival to campus last fall. He broke onto the scene at the 2016 ITA Northeast Regional Championship by reaching the quarterfinal round in both the singles and doubles draw, as the native of Greece heads into today's bout with a staggering 13-3 mark in singles action.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST THE BOMBERS: Ithaca has been nothing short of dominant in the all-time series with Elmira. The Bombers own a lopsided 28-0 all-time record against the Soaring Eagles.

SCOUTING LYCOMING: The Warriors head into the weekend with a 4-5 overall record and will face the Mustangs of Stevenson University on Saturday, prior to their match against Elmira on Sunday. Lycoming is 2-1 during the spring portion of its schedule, which includes a pair of convincing wins over Clarks Summit University (7-2) and Lancaster Bible (8-1). A trio of players deserve the lion's share of credit for Lycoming's success thus far into 2016-17 campaign. Evan Bennetch and Rob Smith share the team-lead in singles wins with seven apiece, while Zachary High is close behind with six victories at the fifth spot. Smith is 6-3 in dual matches this year at the No. 2 spot, while Bennecht owns an identical record at third singles. 

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST THE WARRIORS: The all-time series between Elmira and Lycoming has been a short one, as the two programs have faced off just once in their histories. The lone matchup was a dominant 9-0 victory for the Soaring Eagles on March 22, 2015, in Elmira, New York. 

LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira returns the E8 portion of its schedule with a road matchup against Hartwick College on Saturday, April 8. The conference tilt is schedule to begin at 1:00 p.m. in Oneonta, New York.