The Ithaca College men’s tennis team will face Stevens Institute of Technology in the Empire 8 finals after dismissing St. John Fisher College 5–1 in the semifinal match May 5. The Bombers managed to sweep the singles matches and lose only one doubles match.

In the first flight doubles match, freshman Minos Stavrakas and sophomore Michael Gardiner had a close fought match against the Cardinals’ first ranked doubles partners; however, they could not come out on top, losing 8–6. That was the last time the Bombers would face a loss for the entire match, winning the next five matches handedly.

The second flight match of senior Wes Davis and junior Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos was able to take the win for the Bombers 8–3. Senior Nate Wolf and sophomore Stefan Lazarevic won the third flight match 8–4, giving the Bombers a 2–1 lead.

The singles matches began with a win from third seed freshman Colten Lavery, who dominated his opponent with a score of 6–2, 6–0. In the second flight match, Gardiner had a closely fought first set, narrowing out a win with a score of 7–5, but then was able to dispatch his opponent 6–1 in the second set, securing the win.

Stavrakas never faltered in his first flight match, winning his match 6–2, 6–3 and continuing his excellent freshman campaign and finalizing the team score 5–1.

The Bombers will look to claim their first Empire 8 championship since 2009 when they face off against Stevens Institute of Technology for the 8th consecutive year in the finals.

Earlier this season, the Blue and Gold fell to Stevens 8–1 but have a chance to redeem themselves on a grand scale.