Senior Joe Young won the biggest match in the men’s tennis program history. That’s not an overstatement.

Young’s 6–1, 6–3 win over the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Gean Yip on April 22 not only clinched the Bombers’ fourth

Empire 8 title in five years, it also cemented the Blue and Gold’s first-ever ticket to the National tournament.

When Young’s final point dropped in for the win, the senior felt overwhelmed. It was only his second match of the season after breaking his hand in late February. Tears were shed as Young met with his coach and fellow Bombers.

“Winning that match, every single emotion went through me at the last point,” Young said.

While coaching the team through the spring season with Head Coach Bill Austin, all Young wanted to do was return to the court with a racket held firmly in a hand that had a bone shattered in five pieces only months before.

“It was a tough thing to deal with because you play a sport your entire life and this is the culminating year of competition,” Young said. “I’ll be able to play tennis for the rest of my life, but this is the last time I’ll be playing at this highly competitive level. To almost lose that, it sucked, to put it any other way.”

Head Coach Bill Austin couldn’t have written a better comeback story for his senior captain, who made his return a week before the conference tournament for a match against Alfred University.

“It was amazing,” Austin said. “It was great to see Joe win. It was really frustrating to him watching. He helped coach a lot, but he wanted to play. It was a little poetic justice for him.”

Ithaca drew the University of Southern Maine in the first round 10 a.m. Friday in Middlebury, Vt. Ithaca is seeded fourth in its region, while Southern Maine took the fifth and final seed.

“I know it should be a very competitive match,” Austin said. “It’s one we’re looking forward to. It’s a four-five matchup.”

If the Bombers make it past the first round, they must face No. 1 seed Middlebury College in the second, a team that earned a first-round bye and was a runner-up in last year’s finals.

The women’s team also qualified for Nationals by way of an Empire 8 title and will play Simmons College tomorrow. This is the first year Empire 8 champions received an automatic bid to Nationals as the NCAA seeks to expand the playing field in Division-III tennis. Austin said the NCAA opened the tournament from 27 to 48 teams for women and from 26 to 41 in men’s tennis. Ithaca won’t be the only team attending Nationals for the first time.

“It’s in keeping with the philosophy of the NCAA, that if you win your conference, you’re going to be rewarded,” Austin said.

A season with a potential reward at the end of it made for a more competitive Empire 8, freshman Danny Wolk said. When the team found it would be the first Empire 8 team to compete at Nationals, the Bombers went wild. Two weeks later, the team is now composed and focused at its first-ever shot at a National title.

“Tennis isn’t the most prestigious sport at Ithaca College, but we’re going to the NCAAs and that’s what matters,” he said.