Score: Nazareth College 7, Elmira College 2
Records: Nazareth (3-11, 3-3 E8), Elmira (2-11, 2-4 E8)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- Elmira College men's tennis got off to a hot start in today's Empire 8 Conference tilt against Nazareth College, as the Soaring Eagles took a 2-1 lead by claiming two of the three doubles points. Unfortunately for Elmira, the Golden Flyers rallied in the singles portion of today's league bout by sweeping all six matches to secure a 7-2 victory.
 
Elmira's top tandem of Stephen Gervase '20 and Zackarie Stedge '21 breezed past Nazareth's Tommy Daviau and Tyler Luong for an 8-3 win. The Golden Flyers picked up an 8-2 win at the No. 2 spot, before EC's No. 3 duo of Ravi Chauma '21 and Curtis Harris '22 earned a nail-biting 8-6 win to send the Soaring Eagles into singles action with a 2-1 advantage.
 
Although Nazareth eventually won all six singles matches to close out today's contest, Elmira saw its No. 1 and No. 3 players push their opponents to the brink.
 
At the top spot, Gervase battled Nazareth's Ryley Amond. Amond earned a convincing 6-2 win in the opening set, but Gervase showed his grit by rallying in the second set for a 6-4 win and forced a third set. In the third, Gervase stayed close with Amond through the early goings, but Amond eventually pulled away later in the set with breaks of serve and a strong service game to clinch a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 three-set win.
 
Harris also had a tight contest, this one at the No. 3 spot. Nazareth's Luong edged Harris, 7-5, in the opening set thanks to a late break of serve, but the EC rookie bounced back nicely in the second set and cruised to a 6-1 win. Luong jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but Harris was able to pull to within one game at 4-3. However, Luong outlasted the EC freshman and walked away with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 win.
 
At the conclusion of the match, Elmira honored its lone graduating member of the Class of 2019, Jordan Curtis '19. Curtis is a Finance and Business Administration double-major with minors in Anthropology, Sociology and History. Curtis played in the final home match of his four-year collegiate career.
 
News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles played in their final home match of the 2018-19 campaign.
• Elmira won two-of-three doubles points for just the third time this season.
• It marked the first time this year EC has lost a match after winning two-or-more doubles points.
• Gervase and Stedge improved to 3-4 as a doubles team this season.
• Chauma and Harris improved to 4-2 as a doubles tandem this year.
• Chauma and Harris are 3-1 in doubles against E8 opponents.

 
Up Next
The Elmira men are back in action this Saturday, April 27, when they travel to the Garden State to take on the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology. The E8 bout is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start.