ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's tennis team got a taste of the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament, defeating Utica in the regular season finale by an 8-1 score Saturday afternoon from the William T. Brown Tennis Courts.
With the win, the Saxons (3-8, 2-6 Empire 8) secure the fourth seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament. They will face the same Utica (1-7, 0-7 Empire 8) squad in the first round on Wednesday, May 5 at a time to be determined.
The Saxons swept the Pioneers in doubles play to stake a 3-0 lead. At No. 1, senior
Ryan Brown (Olean, NY/Olean) and first year
Isaac Little (Alfred, NY/Alfred-Almond) defeated Austin McGrain and LJ Nuzzo by an 8-3 score. It was the same score at No. 2, as seniors
Logan Cross (Olean, NY/Olean) and
Adam Shearer (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) defeated Maki Medici and Ethan Trembley. First year
Sam Cohen (Brighton, NY/Brighton) and sophomore
Wes Dennison (Almond, NY/Alfred-Almond) had a dominant showing in an 8-0 win over Bradley Litz and Joshua Palmer.
In singles, Dennison ran his win streak to an impressive six games with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout victory over Palmer at No. 6. Shearer was near perfect at No. 5, defeating Litz 6-0, 6-1. Cohen got back on track as a singles competitor, picking up a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Trembley at No. 4. At the top spot, Brown won his fourth match of the season, picking up a 6-2, 6-4 win over Nuzzo. Cross battled in a straight set victory at No. 3 over Medici, outlasting the Utica competitor in a pair of tiebreaks, a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) triumph.
"What a way to end our season!" said head coach
Jordan Crouch. "Great job by Logan for battling through two really tough sets. Gotta prepare to see them again next week, but it's great to be able to do this in front of our Saxon faithful."
