GENESEO, N.Y. – Russell Sage College had its regular season come to a close with this afternoon's 6-3 Empire 8 Conference setback at SUNY Geneseo.
Junior Tirzah Spivey (Clifton Park, NY/Schenectady), a two-time All-Conference singles selection, was responsible for two of the points, winning at number two singles and number one doubles with Emma Nuzzi (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), a grad student. Spivey finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 singles record.
Freshman Marian Aguirre (Plano, TX/Plano) was victorious at number one singles, 6-2, 6-2, to account for the other RSC point against the Knights (7-1/6-1 E8. The two-time E8 Player of the Week heads into the postseason with a 22-2 overall record. She is 132-13 in singles matches, 84-8 in Conference contests.
Today's results, combined with those around the Conference, put the Gators (7-5/5-3 E8) as the four seed in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament. RSC will be playing at home on Tuesday in the first round against Saint John Fisher.
Gator Bites: RSC, under the direction of Head Coach Michael Branche, qualified for the E8 Championship Tournament for the third time in program history…The Gators established a program record with its fiveE8 Conference wins this autumn…RSC got off to a 6-1 start, its best in a season since 2019…The Gators went 9-1 to begin that fall and finished 10-4… The 2017 and 2019 teams both had four Conference victories…This year's roster is made up of six newcomers and seven returnees on this year's roster…Spivey, a two-time All-Empire 8 Conference singles selection, Nuzzi, and senior Emma Vander Baan (Barre, MA/Quabbin Regional) headlined the returning players…Spivey finished 5-1 at first singles in league play last season… She will enter the playoffs with a 12-0 singles record…Freshman Marian Aguirre (Plano, TX/Plano) was selected the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the periods ending Sunday, September 8 and Sunday, September 15…The rookie started her collegiate career by going 8-0 across singles and doubles, including a 24-3 singles ledger…Freshmen Olivia Monaco (Campbell Hall, NY/Washingtonville) and Aguirre were chosen the Conference's Doubles Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 22…The duo went 2-0 playing number two doubles that week, winning their two matches by a combined score of 16-4…The first-years started their debut doubles campaign 9-0 overall, 8-0 at number two doubles,… Spivey and Nuzzi were chosen the E8 Doubles Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 29…The top doubles pairing defeated Saint John Fisher 8-1 on Saturday, September 28…Spivey was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, October 6…She went 3-0 in singles that week, including defeating the reigning E8 Player of the Year from Hartwick on October 4.
