UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's tennis team will begin its 2023 season on Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m. on the road against Houghton University.
Last Time Out: Utica comes into the new campaign after a 5-8 2022 season suffering a Semifinals loss to Houghton University in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.
Damian Bruce (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) led the way with an 8-3 overall record while
LJ Nuzzo (Peru, NY/Peru Central) was 8-4. The duo led the team with 4-3 conference records.
Schedule Outlook: The team will play 12 matches this season with 10 being conference, and two being non-conference before the Empire 8 Conference Tournament on April 28-29 which the team must qualify for. The top seed will host the tournament and the top four teams from the conference will qualify. Utica's non-conference matchups will be at Oswego State on Wednesday, March 29 and then host SUNY Delhi on Wednesday, April 5. The conference matchups will be against Houghton, Medaille, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Alfred with each team hosting one game and hitting the road for the other. The Pioneers will conclude the season on the road on Saturday, April 22 against Nazareth.
Dame Dolla: Senior
Damian Bruce (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) looks to keep his winning ways after going 8-3 in his first season with the Pioneers in 2022. The Gloversville, NY native previously played at SUNY Oneonta. Bruce heated up towards the end of the season going 6-3 in his last nine matches and ending the season on a three game winning streak.
Returners: Seniors
Damian Bruce (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) and
Bradley Litz (West Winfield, NY/Mt. Markham) headline the returners as veterans. Sophomores
Gaynay Doo (Utica, NY/Proctor) and
Jallen Wright (Utica, NY/Proctor) return for another season with the Pioneers. This will be Litz's third season with the team and he posted the best season of his career last season with four wins. Doo recorded two wins in his first season with the Pioneers and
Jallen Wright (Utica, NY/Proctor) looks to take the sophomore leap this season.
Newcomers: The team features plenty of newcomers as
Logan Kraft (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford),
Richard Nguyen (Utica, NY/Proctor),
Jack Paute (Utica, NY/Proctor), and
Hunter Sanford (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy) will all make their Pioneer debuts this season. Kraft is a junior, while Nguyen is a freshman and Sanford is a sophomore.
Jack Paute (Utica, NY/Proctor) is a transfer from NCAA Division II Daemen University and the Utica, NY native looks to make an immediate impact.
About Houghton: The Highlanders are coming off a 12-11 season in which the team fell to Nazareth in the Empire 8 Championship 5-3. Houghton is 3-5 this season and will clash with RIT before hosting the Pioneers on Saturday, March 25. The team is led by Sam Bonisteel who is 2-0 this season while Nolan Zach has played the most overall matches and sports a 4-4 record.
Scouting Medaille: The Mavericks sported a 5-5 record last season and lost in the AMCC Semifinals to Penn State Behrend. Medaille will make its Empire 8 Conference debut this season against St. John Fisher on Friday, March 24 before clashing with Utica on Saturday, March 25. Ben Tubbs led the way with a 6-2 record last season while Ander Castillo and Celso Juberias sported a 3-1 record. All three players were freshmen last season and are looking to take the leap into their sophomore seasons.
Up Next: The team will travel to face SUNY Oswego on Wednesday, March 29 with the time to be determined.
