ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Elmira College men's tennis travels to Central New York on Monday, April 17, for an Empire 8 Conference showdown with the Pioneers of Utica College. The league bout is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on the outdoor tennis courts on Utica's campus.
LAST TIME OUT: Despite winning two of the three doubles matches, Elmira came up short at home against visiting Nazareth College by a 6-3 final score. EC held 5-2 leads in all three doubles matches and picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
Stephen Gervase '20 and
Chris Konow '18 were 8-4 winners at the second spot, while
Anthony Colavito '20 and
Yaniv Kogan '18 earned an 8-6 victory at the third position.
Patrick Tracey '18 picked up his team-leading eighth singles victory with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph at the third position, which at the time put the Purple and Gold ahead, 3-1. Elmira needed just two singles wins to capture an all-important E8 victory, but the Golden Flyers rallied and won the remaining five contests to secure a 6-3 win.
ROAD TESTED: After winning just once on the road during the 2015-16 season, the Elmira men have flipped the script during the 2016-17 campaign with a bevy of strong performances away from the friendly confines of the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles are riding a three-match road winning streak heading into Saturday's tilt with the Pioneers and own a 3-1 record in away matches this season. Elmira's three-match road winning streak is the longest such streak since the 2013-14 season, when the Purple and gold closed out the regular season with a trio of away victories against Houghton, Alfred and Oswego.
SCOUTING UTICA: Utica heads into Monday's clash with the Soaring Eagles with a 1-3 overall record (0-2 E8) and is off to its best start since the 2013-14 campaign. The Pioneers opened the year with an 8-1 win over Sage, a team that will be joining the Empire 8 Conference next year, but has since dropped three consecutive 9-0 decisions. Utica's most recent contest was a 9-0 loss to Oswego State on the road on April 12. Christopher Dunn has held down the No. 1 singles position, as well as the top doubles spot, for the Pioneers this season. Dunn owns a combined record of 2-4, but has not tasted a victory since April 5.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Elmira and Utica will meet for the 29th time in their respective histories on Monday afternoon. The Soaring Eagles own a 22-6 lead in the all-time series and have won eight consecutive matches against the Pioneers, a streak that dates back to the 2009 season.
LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira is back in action on Wednesday, April 19, when the Purple and Gold host Alfred University in a crucial Empire 8 Conference contest. The opening serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at EC's Murray Athletic Center.
