2010 Season Preview

The Soaring Eagles Men’s Tennis team returns six key players for the 2010 season in addition to adding several new faces. In his 36th season as head Men’s Tennis Coach, Phil Levkanich will look to his veteran players to lead a relatively young team to new heights. With a combination of experience and young talent, this year’s Soaring Eagles are hoping for a breakthrough season.

The Purple and Gold will be counting on third year standout Gabe Cortes ’11 (Miami, FL -- Miami County Day School) to continue his Empire 8 dominance this season. The Florida native has been a force in the Empire 8 Conference since his arrival to Elmira College, earning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors as well as First Team All-Conference honors for singles and doubles. Last season Cortes owned an impressive 18-6 overall record including a 9-3 posting at first singles as well as first doubles.

In his inaugural season with the Soaring Eagles, Eric Klinedinst ’12 (York, PA -- Northeastern) shined as he owned the number two singles spot as well as teaming up with Cortes at first  doubles. Klinedinst was second on the team in wins with 14 which included a 6-5 record at second singles; three of his losses he managed to push his opponents to three sets. For his efforts he earned Empire 8 First Team All-Conference honors in doubles.

Returning players Mike Lesslie ’10 (Seneca Falls, NY -- Senaca Falls), Ryan Patterson ’11 (Brattleboro, VT -- Brattleboro Union), Tim Wagner ’11 (Corinth, NY -- Corinth), and Matt Montgomery ’12 (Elmira, NY -- Thomas Edison) all saw valuable time last season and will count on their experience to guide them to victories this season. Lesslie is a fourth year returning player who played mostly fourth singles and second doubles. With such a young team, his leadership will be key for this year’s Soaring Eagles team.

Patterson will look to build on the success he found late in the season last year. He played most of the year at third singles and split time at second and third doubles. At the end of last season he teamed up with Montgomery to win their last two doubles matches which resulted in two EC wins. Montgomery saw time mostly as fifth singles and third doubles. Seeing playing time mainly in doubles last season was Wagner. His leadership abilities with this year’s young players will be instrumental in building a competitive team.

Rounding out this year’s team is  Jon Abdelkarim ’13 (Hurley, NY -- John A. Coleman), Gene Albury ’13 (Nassau, BS -- St. Andrew's), Rashad Curry ’12 (Nassau, BS -- St. Anne's ), Gorav Simlote ’13 (Syracuse, NY -- Jamesville-Dewitt), George Smith ’13 (Watseka, IL -- Granite City), and Steffan Waters ’13 (Elmira, NY -- Elmira Free Academy ). These young but talented players will be a key factor in Elmira’s success this season. In the fall EC hosted SUNY Oswego in a fall season match. Simlote, Smith, and Waters totaled up 4 points for the Soaring Eagles leading them a 7-2 victory. Look for these players to make an immediate impact this spring season.

With a combination of youth and experience, the Soaring Eagles will look to be a strong presence in the highly competitive Empire 8 Conference as well as contend for one of the top 4 spots, earning them a postseason bid.