ITHACA, N.Y. (April 12, 2008) – In a battle of the lone unbeaten teams in the Empire 8, the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s tennis team defeated Ithaca College by the score of 6-3 on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. The win was the seventh in a row by the Ducks and raised their overall record to 10-5. Stevens now sits alone in first place in the conference with a mark of 5-0. The Bombers (8-7, 4-1 Empire 8) had won three matches in a row. Sophomore Piotr Rusinkiewicz earned the clinching point against Ithaca as he defeated sophomore Liam Berkowitz (Pleasantville, N.Y.) in three sets (3-6, 6-1, 6-0) at fourth singles.
At No. 1 doubles, senior Ricky Bawa and Rusinkiewicz teamed up for an 8-1 win over sophomores Taylor Borda (Chester, N.J.) and Danny Wolk (Potomac, Md.). Freshmen Zhi Wei Ko and Jay Lee suffered their first loss as a team this season as they fell to freshmen Josh Rifkin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Alex Stoler (River Vale, N.J.) by an 8-2 count at second doubles. The Bombers also won at third doubles as senior Jeff Buffum (Morristown, N.J.) and Berkowitz overcame a 7-3 deficit to win 9-7 against freshmen Arik Zeevy and Jason Ringstad.
Ko improved to 11-5 on the year with his sixth-straight victory at No. 1 singles. He defeated Borda 6-4, 6-1. Zeevy has now won four matches in a row following his 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Stoler at second singles. Bawa recorded his 10th-straight singles victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Rifkin at No. 3 singles. After Rusinkiewicz out-lasted Berkowitz in three sets at fourth singles, Wolk won the lone singles match for Ithaca with a 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 11-9 victory over Ringstad in the fifth flight. Lee concluded with a 6-3, 6-3 victory – his seventh in a row – against Buffum in the sixth-singles position.
Stevens will be back in action on Sunday when it plays Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y. That match will begin at 1 p.m.
