HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 20, 2008) – On Sunday afternoon, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team closed out the regular season with a 9-0 shutout of St. John Fisher College in Hoboken, N.J. The win raised the Ducks' record to 13-6 on the year and capped a perfect 8-0 run through the Empire 8 during their first season in the conference. Stevens will seek its first-ever Empire 8 Tournament title next weekend when the Ducks travel to Rochester, N.Y.
In the win over the Cardinals (10-7, 5-3 Empire 8), senior Ricky Bawa and sophomore Piotr Rusinkiewicz defeated junior Mike O'Connor (Syracuse, N.Y.) and sophomore Matt Aquino (Fairport, N.Y.) by the score of 8-2 at first doubles. At No. 2 doubles, freshmen Zhi Wei Ko and Arik Zeevy also posted an 8-2 victory against senior Donnie Sherman (Elmira, N.Y.) and junior Karl Schiefer (Liverpool, N.Y.). In the third-doubles match, freshmen Jay Lee and Jason Ringstad dropped just one game in their 8-1 win over junior Phil Coleman (Geneva, N.Y.) and freshman Jake VanBuren (Canandaigua, N.Y.).
In singles action, Stevens did not drop a set in any of the six matches. At first singles, Ko bested Aquino 6-0, 6-1. Zeevy lost a total of one game in his 6-1, 6-0 victory over sophomore Tim Adler (Seneca Falls, N.Y.) at No. 2 singles. Bawa picked up his 16th win this season with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Sherman in the third flight. Rusinkiewicz topped Schiefer 6-3, 6-1 at fourth singles. Lee continued to roll right along with his 11th-straight victory as he took down Coleman in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) at fifth singles. In the sixth-singles match, Ringstad defeated VanBuren by the score of 6-2, 6-0.
The 2008 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship is a four-team, single-elimination tournament that will take place on Saturday and Sunday on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology. The winner of the conference title will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship. Stevens has earned the top seed and will take on fourth-seeded RIT. Saturday's other semifinal features second-seeded Ithaca College and third-seeded St. John Fisher College. The two semifinal winners will play for the conference title on Sunday. The times of all those matches have not been determined yet.
