After battling through a difficult schedule early in the season, including several games against Division II opponents, the men’s tennis team has found its stride when it matters most, in Empire 8 Conference play. Although the Cardinals began the 2007 campaign with a 2-6 record against non-conference foes, the beginning of Empire 8 competition has seen a distinct improvement in Fisher’s performance.
The Cardinals have jumped out to a perfect 3-0 mark against their conference rivals. Fisher was dominant in victories over Elmira and Alfred, posting winning scores of 9-0 and 8-1, respectively. Sandwiched between these wins was a loss to RPI, a non-league contest in which the Cardinals were swept. However, they returned to Empire 8 play on April 5. RIT fared a little better than Alfred and Elmira, but the end result was the same, as they ultimately fell to the Cardinals by a 6-3 count.

This early success placed Fisher in the running for one of the top three seeds in the conference, along with Hartwick and Nazareth, who they have yet to face. Taking care of business in the first three Empire 8 games has placed the Cardinals in a position to control their own destiny as the regular season approaches its conclusion, and the conference tournament looms near.

“We want to be seeded in the top four,” head coach Linda Gohagan said. “That’s our goal.”

Before they could entirely turn their attention to postseason scenarios, however, the Cardinals had to gear up for a non-conference match-up with Oneonta. The Dragons, a member of the ECAC, entered the game with a 5-2 overall record. They played like a veteran team, keeping the feisty young Cardinals at bay for most of the afternoon.

Junior Donnie Sherman got the action started with a match against Oneonta’s senior captain Eric Bratt. Bratt proved to be too much to handle, as he was able to claim the point with 6-0, 6-2 wins. Sophomore Joe Koehler suffered a similar fate, losing 6-2, 7-6 (7-2). The pattern continued in the third singles, where Phil Coleman fell to Oneonta freshman Matt Steinhauser, 6-0, 6-1.

The Cardinals have their own freshman phenom in the form of Tim Adler. The Seneca Falls, N.Y., native took his opponent to the limit before bowing out, 6-7 (7-4), 7-5, 10-6. In the fifth singles, sophomore Jack Forrest lost a hard fought battle with Shot Kanzaki, 6-4, 6-4. The Cardinals were finally able to break through in the sixth, as Karl Schiefer defeated his opponent 6-2, 6-4 to claim the point.

Unfortunately, the song remained the same in doubles play. And just like a Black Eyed Peas tune that gets stuck in your head and refuses to go away, this was a song the Cardinals were not trying to hear. In the first doubles match, Sherman and freshman Matt Aquino fell 8-4. The sophomore combination of Jack Forrest and Schiefer continued to pay dividends for the Cardinals in the second singles, as they captured the win 8-4. Alas, that would be Fisher’s final point of the afternoon. Brian Kohler and Mike O’Connor dropped the third singles in a tight match, 9-7. Oneonta won the overall scoring, 7-2, leaving the Cardinals with a 5-8 record.

Despite the loss, Fisher remains in good shape as the season draws to a close. With two games remaining on the Empire 8 schedule, the conference is still there for the taking. While last year’s squad set a school record with 13 total victories, the 2007 edition of the Cardinals seems poised to go where no Fisher team has gone before, perhaps all the way to an Empire 8 championship.