PITTSFORD, NY (May 2, 2019) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team will begin its quest for their tenth consecutive Empire 8 Conference Title and eleventh overall in program history against No. 3 St. John Fisher on Friday afternoon. Stevens defeated St. John Fisher, 9-0, on April 6 at Stevens Tennis Courts.

"After a great second half of the season, we are excited to begin postseason play this weekend at the Empire 8 conference tournament. We are finally healthy throughout the lineup and guys are playing some of their best tennis over the last few weeks," stated Head Coach Steve Gachko. "It feels good to get back into the national rankings and to beat some of our rivals in TCNJ, NYU, and Hobart, but we aren't done yet and look forward to seeing how far this group can go this postseason."

The Ducks earned the number two seed in the E8 conference tournament with their only loss in conference coming to number one seed Houghton College back on March 30. In the rematch of the 2018 E8 Final during the regular season, Houghton slipped past Stevens 5-4 and went a perfect 7-0 in the conference to earn the No. 1 seed. This Ducks squad is vastly improved since their meeting with the Highlanders back in late March and are currently on a six match winning streak heading into the conference tournament. During the winning streak Stevens bested two nationally ranked programs, Hobart and The College of New Jersey, and jumped back into the national rankings where they currently sit at #32 and #10 in the Northeast Region according to Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Stevens's roster contains only freshman and sophomore but this young squad matured a lot during the regular season thanks to their strength of schedule. Freshman Marc Feliu Gomez burst onto the scene during his first season at Castle Point. The Barcelona, Spain native has played at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles paired with Bryan Szayna throughout the course of the season. Feliu Gomez has put together a 14-8 overall record in singles competition and is currently ranked #12 in the Northeast region. Szayna and Gomez have proven to be a force on the courts in their first season paired together. The duo currently sits with a 23-3 overall record and a #4 ranking in the Northeast Region. Sophomore Mark Kanevsky has put together a solid season in singles competition and currently has the second most wins on the team with 13 primarily playing out of the No. 2 and No. 3 spot. Sophomore Keegan Morris has come on strong during the second half of the season and will be a key piece in the Ducks line up in the postseason after going 8-3 in the singles competition in a limited season due to injury.

"This team has come a long way since our first indoor practice back in February. This is a young group and they have been through a lot together already this season from battling injuries to close matches (four 5-4 matches) to going undefeated at home," remarked Head Assistant Coach Arik Zeevy. "It's been rewarding to see the guys grow with the confidence as the season went on, and we are looking to continue that momentum heading into this weekend."

St. John Fisher is making their seventh consecutive Empire 8 conference tournament after going 5-2 in the conference and is currently on a five match winning streak. The final team to qualify for the conference tournament is number four seed Alfred University who went 4-3 in the E8 and has an overall record of 7-5.
Semifinal action will take place on Friday with Stevens taking on St. John Fisher and Houghton playing Alfred in the top-half semifinal at 4:00 p.m. The matches will take place at Mendon Racquet & Pool Club up in Pittsford, N.Y. and the winners will meet in the Championship Finals on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The conference champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Championships.

Quick Links: E8 Tournament Central

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