PITTSFORD, N.Y. – For the eighth consecutive season, the St. John Fisher College men's tennis team will vie for an Empire 8 Championship as the Cardinals will host the postseason tournament beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday at Mendon Racquet and Pool Club. 

Fisher, which earned the third overall seed thanks to a 5-2 mark in the Empire 8 standings, will take on second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the semifinal round while top-seeded Houghton meets fourth-seeded Nazareth on the other side of the bracket.  The winner of each semifinal pairing will square off on Saturday with the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship on the line. 

This season, head coach Linda Gohagan's squad has proved that it's not how you start, but rather how you finish that counts.  After struggling to begin the season, the Cardinals have found their groove as Fisher will enter the postseason riding a five-match winning streak where they've posted three sweeps.

In singles play this season, the Cardinals are led by John Miller in the first flight as the senior has posted four consecutive wins over his opponents.  Overall, Miller is 4-2 in singles play against Empire 8 programs and is 5-9 on the season with one forfeit decision in his favor. 

Fellow senior Jonathan Harper is also putting together a strong year as the London, England native is 6-4 overall at third singles.  Harper has won his last five matches and sits at 6-4 overall his last 10 flights.  Junior Dustin McCullough is 5-2 in Empire 8 play and also enters the weekend having won eight of 15 matches at second singles during the regular season.  At fourth singles, Jarrett Pelton owns a four-match winning streak and has come out on top in five of nine matches overall.  Tim Christman has been a staple at fifth singles as the freshman went 7-7 during the year and will look to make it five wins in a row on Friday.  Jordan O'Connell has come on strong to close out the regular season with four straight wins at sixth singles.    

The Cardinals have also been successful in doubles play led by Harper and McCullough who posted a 5-1 mark against Empire 8 opponents at first doubles including five straight victories.  At second doubles, Fisher has turned to Miller and Pelton who have combined to go 7-7 on the year with four straight wins while Christman and O'Connell have found a rhythm and third doubles following a 7-7 overall mark on the year.

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