ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's tennis regular season is quickly approaching its apex, as the Soaring Eagles travel to Hoboken, New Jersey, to play in one of the team's final three contests of the year. Elmira will take on the No. 39 nationally-ranked Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, April 22, in a 2:00 p.m. Empire 8 Conference showdown.
LAST TIME OUT: Elmira collected its second consecutive Empire 8 victory, and its third of the season, with an 8-1 triumph over visiting Alfred University last time out. The Soaring Eagles swept the doubles points, before taking five of six singles matches en route to a one-sided win. Three of the six singles contests went the distance, as matches at first, second and fourth singles went into a third set, while matches at the third, fifth and sixth spots were decided by a single break of serve in each set.
Theo Tran '20,
Patrick Tracey '18,
Chris Konow '18 and
Stephen Gervase '20 were all double-winners on the day and helped EC improve its overall record to 8-5 with a 3-2 mark inside the Empire 8.
TIP-TOP-TRACEY: With wins over the Saxons in singles and doubles, Elmira's Tracey solidified himself as the team's wins leader with 19 totals victories (10 singles, 9 doubles). In singles action, Tracey has won five consecutive contests, all of which have come in the form of straight-set victories, and is 9-1 in his last 10 contests. His 19 wins are tied for fifth-most in EC single-season history, and two additional wins would place the product of Bardonia, New York, in a four-way tie for the most wins in single-season program history.
SCOUTING STEVENS: The No. 39-ranked Ducks head into the weekend with a 6-13 overall record, but the lack of wins on Stevens' resume can be a bit misleading. Stevens is 4-0 within league play and all four victories have come in shutout fashion. Meanwhile, 11 of the team's 13 setbacks have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including the team's most recent 5-4 loss to No. 33-ranked TCNJ. The Ducks are second in the league standings, just one win behind Ithaca College (9-4, 5-0 E8), a team Stevens will face on Saturday morning prior to taking on Elmira.
SERIES HISTORY: Elmira and Stevens have faced each other 10 times since the Ducks joined the Empire 8 Conference in the spring of 2008. The Ducks are a perfect 10-0 against the Soaring Eagles during that time frame.
LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira battles Houghton College in E8 action on Tuesday, April 25, in EC's final home contest of the 2016-17 season. The opening serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Elmira's Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York.
