HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- Houghton men's tennis will play for its second-straight Empire 8 title after a 5-0 win over Alfred University in the E8 semifinals Friday on Houghton's outdoor courts.

The No. 1 Highlanders swept the doubles matches over the No. 4 Saxons with Levi Webb and Nolan Zach (8-1), Micah Schilke and Graham Cook (8-3) and Tobias Webb and Jason Murphy (8-6) getting the victories.

Those wins put Houghton within two singles matches victories from the championship. They got those wins at first and second singles from Schilke (6-1, 6-1) and Zach (6-1, 6-2). Once those two wins were secured, the other singles matches went unfinished.

"It was a great match today. Our doubles teams yet again propelled us into the singles part of the match. Micah Schilke and Nolan Zach closed out the match at 1st and 3rd singles to send us to the finals tomorrow," said Head Coach Matthew Webb. "This is exactly where we want to be and look forward to playing Nazareth tomorrow. I expect a competitive match with Naz. They are a solid team and we will need to be on our game tomorrow. I am confident in our guys and their preparation and look forward to seeing them represent Houghton on our courts tomorrow afternoon."

No. 2 Nazareth beat No. 3 St. John Fisher, 5-2, in the other semifinal.

The championship will take place at 1 p.m. at Houghton. The Highlanders beat the Golden Flyers twice during the regular season, both by 6-4 margins. Saturday's winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA National Tournament.