UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's tennis team will open its 2022 season on Saturday against future Empire 8 foe Medaille College. The match is set to start at 3 p.m. from the Village Glen Tennis Club outside of Buffalo in Williamsville, NY.
Last Time Out: Utica comes into this season after going 1-9 overall in a shortened 2021 season while suffering a first round loss to Alfred University in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.
Austin McGrain (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon ) and
Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) led the team with a pair of individual wins each while the duo of McGrain and
LJ Nuzzo (Peru, NY/Peru Central) totaled a team-high three wins in doubles action.
Schedule at a Glance: The Pioneers are slated to play 13 matches this season, eight conference and five non-conference, before the Empire 8 Conference Tournament from May 6-7 in which they must qualify for. The tournament will be hosted by St. John Fisher and the top-four teams in the E8 will qualify. Utica will play two non-conference matches on the road at Medaille and SUNY Delhi while hosting Oswego State, SUNY Delhi and Mohawk Valley Community College in non-league action. The eight conference matches will consist of home-and-homes with Alfred University, Houghton College, Nazareth College and St. John Fisher. Utica will conclude the regular season at home on May 1 against Nazareth.
Running it Back: Seniors
Ethan Trembley (Schenectady, NY/La Salle Institute),
LJ Nuzzo (Peru, NY/Peru Central),
Austin McGrain (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon ) and
Joe Shirley (Sackets Harbor, NY/Sackets Harbor) will return for another go-around this season. The four of them combined for half of the team's individual wins last season as well as 80 percent of doubles wins. Juniors
Damian Bruce (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville), a former two-time conference champion in high school, and
Bradley Litz (West Winfield, NY/Mt. Markham ) are set to return for the Pioneers while sophomore
Emil Obic (Utica, NY/Proctor ) enters his second season with the team.
Newcomers: The Pioneers will welcome in two fresh faces for the 2022 campaign.
Gaynay Doo (Utica, NY/Proctor ) is a local product out of Proctor High School in Utica as is fellow classmate,
Jallen Wright (Utica, NY/Proctor ).
About Medaille: The Mavericks are 3-2 this season while coming off of a 9-0 loss to Nazareth College on Thursday. In singles play, Zach Barlow, Gay Dho Htoo and Ben Tubbs all lead the team with two wins each while as a whole Medaille has gone 11-13 in singles. The team is 7-6 in doubles action and is led by Akar Kyaw who has three wins under his belt.
Up Next: The Pioneers will play their first Empire 8 match of the season at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 2 at St. John Fisher.
