Houghton men's tennis grabbed two crucial E8 wins this past weekend, with the most important one coming Saturday afternoon on the road against Nazareth.

The Highlanders prevailed 8-1 over their conference rival and reigning Empire 8 Champions. The victory was aided by Houghton's tremendous doubles play to start the match as the men swept the three matches in convincing fashion. Levi Webb and Jaimie Staerkle continued their winning ways at the first flight taking it 8-3, and the third pairing of Matt Cicero and Nolan Zach would also win 8-3. Micah Schilke and Marcelo Garcia closed out the second court 8-5 in the closest doubles contest of the afternoon. 

The Highlanders would be relentless in singles play knowing Nazareth would not back down from the fight. At the first position, Staerkle would have a fierce battle taking the match in a third set 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Schilke on court two rolled to an easy 6-2, 6-1 win, with Webb following behind him on court three taking it in a close two setter, 6-3, 6-4. Closing out the day, Cicero cleaned up at the fifth position, 7-5, 6-2, and Garcia fought back from a slow start to take the sixth and final spot 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 in the third set breaker. 

"Huge win today!" Coach Zach Shilvock explained after the contest. "There is no hiding the fact that Naz is our biggest rival and every matchup against them is a big one. I think the guys played very well, but we have areas to clean up if we want to achieve our ultimate goal. I'm excited to see this team build momentum in E8 play!"

The Highlanders (5-6 overall; 2-0 in E8) will get some much needed rest and get back at it Friday, March 31 as they travel to Alfred for a 4 p.m. match.