The Houghton University Men's Tennis Team claimed their second Empire 8 Conference Title with a tremendous 5-0 win over Nazareth College Saturday afternoon. The Highlander's, who came up short last year in the final to Nazareth, were able to get their revenge and do so in a dominating fashion. The victory was the perfect completion of conference play as Houghton finished with a flawless 10-0 record. 

In previous years, Houghton had to fight from behind after the doubles, but that was not the case this time around. The Highlander's were hot out of the gates grabbing all three essential doubles points. At first doubles, Jaimie Staerkle and Levi Webb, rolled to easy 8-3 victory. On court two, Marcelo Garcia and Micah Schilke, had a rough opening few games, but rebounded quickly. After falling 3-1, they swiftly found momentum taking the point 8-4. Finally, on court three, Nolan Zach and Matt Cicero would close out the tightest match of the contest winning 8-6. Heading into singles, Houghton would only need to snag two of the six contests to clinch the title. First to the task was Sophomore Nolan Zach on court four. Zach would use his excellent shot making to win 6-1, 6-2. Closing out the match, Senior Micah Schilke was clinical in his 6-3, 6-1 dispatch at second singles. With his two wins on the day and the clinching match, Schilke was awarded the MVP of the Tournament. 

"We did it!" Coach Zach Shilvock said after taking the match. "This team worked so hard the entire year, and their experience proved to great this time around. I could not be more proud of this group. I want to specifically thank Adam Brown and Matt Cicero, our graduating seniors, for pouring years of dedication into this program. Thank you as well to all the fans who came out to support today. You truly are the best fans in the E8, and the support means more than you could ever imagine. It's a great day to be a 'Der!" 

Houghton will advance into the NCAA tournament where they will find out their opponent and location Monday afternoon.