Box Score Score: SUNY Oneonta 8, Elmira College 1
Records: SUNY Oneonta (2-0), Elmira (0-1)
Location: Pine Valley, N.Y. -- Murray Athletic Center Tennis Dome

PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- Elmira College's Patrick Tracey '18 opened the 2018 spring season with a thrilling three-set victory at the No. 1 singles position, but that proved to be the only point the Soaring Eagles would claim in an 8-1 non-conference loss against SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday.

The visiting Red Dragons opened the match by sweeping play at all three doubles positions. Tracey and teammate Stephen Gervase '20 put up the toughest fight among the Soaring Eagles against SUNY Oneonta's top tandem of Nicholas Fox and Joseph D'Orazio but were handed an 8-4 loss.

Although Fox got the best of Tracey in the doubles portion of the match, the fourth-year netter from Bardonia, New York, fought for a narrow victory over his junior counterpart at the top singles spot. The 6-foot-2-inch lefty took the lead in the contest by taking the first set, 6-4, but Fox responded with a 6-1 triumph in the second to force a tiebreaker. Although the match as a whole had already been decided in the Red Dragons' favor, Tracey pulled out 10-8 win in the tiebreaker for his 49th career victory, which moved him into a tie with classmate Yaniv Kogan '18 for fourth-place all-time in program history.

In the remaining singles matches, the Red Dragons cruised to straight-set wins. Elmira took only three games from SUNY Oneonta between second and sixth singles, with Kogan earning two of them in a 6-0, 6-2 defeat.

Scores
Singles
1. Patrick Tracey (ELMIRA) def. Nicholas Fox (ONEMT) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Marco Ammirati (ONEMT) def. Yaniv Kogan (ELMIRA) 6-0, 6-2
3. Zach Lasky (ONEMT) def. Stephen Gervase (ELMIRA) 6-0, 6-0
4. Cole Laffitte (ONEMT) def. Jordan Curtis (ELMIRA) 6-1, 6-0
5. Timothy Distler (ONEMT) def. Zackarie Stedge (ELMIRA) 6-0, 6-0
6. Riley Smith (ONEMT) def. Ravi Chauma (ELMIRA) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
1. Joseph D'Orazio/Nicholas Fox (ONEMT) def. Patrick Tracey/Stephen Gervase (ELMIRA) 8-4
2. Marco Ammirati/Zach Lasky (ONEMT) def. Yaniv Kogan/Jordan Curtis (ELMIRA) 8-1
3. Timothy Distler/Cole Laffitte (ONEMT) def. Zackarie Stedge/Frank Endieveri III (ELMIRA) 8-0

News and Notes

• Elmira opened the 2018 season with a non-conference loss, while SUNY Oneonta improved to 2-0 this year.
• Dating back to the 2016-17 season finale vs. St. John Fisher College, Tracey has won back-to-back three-set singles matches.
• Tracey improved to 4-4 in his collegiate career in singles matches that were decided in a tiebreaker.
• With 49 career wins, Tracy moved into a two-way tie for fourth-place all-time in EC history, equaling Kogan's career total.
• Tracey is one of just four players in program history to reach 30 career singles wins.
• Freshmen Zackarie Stedge '21, Frank Endieveri III '21, and Ravi Chauma '21 each made their collegiate debuts on Wednesday.

Up Next
The EC men return to the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, March 3, when the Purple and Gold host the Lakers of Oswego State for a 1:30 p.m. non-conference match.