ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 27, 2008) – Senior Ricky Bawa was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2008 Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championship as he led Stevens Institute of Technology to a 5-4 victory over Ithaca College in the tournament finals on Sunday afternoon on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. This marks the first-ever Empire 8 championship in men's tennis for the Ducks, who also won four straight Skyline Conference crowns from 2004-07.

Bawa earned tourney MVP honors following his 8-3 victory at first doubles and 6-4, 6-1 win at third singles against the Bombers, who had won two straight Empire 8 titles. In fact, Ithaca (12-8) had captured four of the last five conference championships.

The Bombers, who had their four-match winning streak snapped, won two of three doubles contests. At first doubles, sophomore Piotr Rusinkiewicz and Bawa trailed 3-2 then ripped off six games in a row to post an 8-3 win over sophomores Taylor Borda (Chester, N.J.) and Danny Wolk (Potomac, Md.). In the second-doubles match, freshmen Zhi Wei Ko and Arik Zeevy led 7-5 and 8-7 but lost 9-8 (7-2) to freshmen Josh Rifkin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Alex Stoler (River Vale, N.J.). At third doubles, freshmen Jay Lee and Jason Ringstad dropped an 8-5 decision to senior Jeff Buffum (Morristown, N.J.) and sophomore Liam Berkowitz (Pleasantville, N.Y.).

Trailing 2-1 after doubles, the Ducks took a 4-3 lead with first and second singles still going on. Bawa dismissed Stoler in two sets at third singles. Rusinkiewicz rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 win against Wolk at No. 4 singles. Ringstad was a straight-sets winner (6-3, 6-3) at sixth singles versus Buffum. Lee lost in two sets (6-2, 6-2) to Berkowitz at fifth singles.

Needing to win just one of the two remaining matches, Stevens clinched its second-straight NCAA Tournament berth as Zeevy beat Rifkin 6-3, 6-4 at second singles. With the championship already decided, Ko dropped a tough three-setter to Borda at No. 1 singles. Borda won 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

At 15-6 on the year, the Ducks will have a chance to tie the school record for wins in a season during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, which is slated to begin on Friday. Last year, Stevens went 16-8 en route to winning the Skyline Conference title and advancing to the national tournament for the first time. The pairings for the 2008 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship will be announced on Monday evening. The Ducks have will carry a four-match winnings streak into the NCAA Tournament.