Score: Elmira College 8, The Sage Colleges 1
Records: Elmira (1-7, 1-0 E8), Sage (0-3, 0-1 E8)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- A strong performance in both singles and doubles propelled the Elmira College men's tennis team to an 8-1 win over The Sage Colleges on Saturday afternoon. The win was Elmira's first of the 2018-19 campaign, as the Soaring Eagles opened Empire 8 Conference action with a victory.
                                      
For the first time this season the Elmira men swept the doubles matches to take an all-important 3-0 lead into singles action. EC's second doubles tandem of Jordan Curtis '19 and Frank Endieveri III '21 kicked things off with a no-nonsense 8-1 win.
 
Third doubles duo Ravi Chauma '21 and Curtis Harris '22 finished next with a tight 8-5 win, before Elmira's top tandem of Stephen Gervase '20 and Zackarie Stedge '21 edged their opponents by a single break of serve for an 8-6 victory.
 
In the singles portion of today's contest, Elmira won five of the six matches, all of which finished in straight sets.
 
Gervase was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at the No. 1 position against Sage's Henry Golden. At the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, Harris and Curtis posted identical 6-0, 6-1 wins, respectively.
 
Matches at No. 5 and No. 6 were closer, but both Chauma and Endieveri pulled out straight-set wins. Chauma was a 6-2, 6-3 winner at the fifth spot, while Endieveri edged Sage's Ryan Burke in a close one at the sixth spot, 7-6(3), 6-2.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Rob Clayton reflects on today's conference-opening win…
"We are peaking at the right time. With all of our matches leading to today, we have had conference matches on our mind, growing with each result. I am most pleased with our doubles performance today, which set us up with momentum for our singles contests."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira is a 1-0 in Empire 8 action.
• The Soaring Eagles improved to 2-0 all-time against the Gators of Sage.
• Harris extended his winning streak in singles to four matches.
• Harris is 4-1 in singles action this year and 3-0 at the No. 3 position.
• Harris and Chauma improved to 2-1 as a doubles team this season.
• Curtis won back-to-back singles matches for the first time this season.
• Curtis is 3-1 in EC's last four contests.
• Curtis, Endieveri, Gervase and Stedge all logged their first doubles wins of the season.
• Curtis and Chauma earned their third singles wins of the season.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action next week on Saturday, April 6, when the Soaring Eagles travel to take on Utica College in E8 action. The opening serve is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Utica, New York.