ITHACA, N.Y. – The Hawks advanced to their second straight Empire 8 Championship yesterday afternoon with a 5-0 win against Alfred.  Today they faced off against a familiar foe, the Nazareth College Golden Flyers who beat the Hawks last fall.  However, that would not be the case this time around as the Hawks defeated Nazareth 5-1 to claim the program's first every Empire 8 Championship.
 
THE BASICS
 

• Final Score:  Hartwick 5, Nazareth 1
• Location:  Ithaca, N.Y.
• Records:  Hartwick (13-0 Overall, 7-0 E8), Nazareth (8-2 Overall, 6-1 E8)

 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 

• Hartwick started the match the same way they started their regular season matchup with the Golden Flyers, taking wins at 2^nd and 3^rd doubles to take a 2-1 advantage.
• At 2^nd doubles, Phoebe Olson (Jamestown, N.Dak.) and Lily Vanuga (Springville, N.Y.) defeated their opponents 8-4.
• The 3^rd doubles team of Maggie Van Valkenburgh (Highland, N.Y.) and Maddi Morrison (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) took an 8-3 win to remain a perfect 13-0 on the year as a doubles team.
• In order to reach the magic number of five wins and claim the title, the Hawks needed to take three of the six singles matches.
• Ryann Ashby (Malta, N.Y.) got Hartwick to three with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win at 4^th singles.
• Vanuga picked up the 4^th win at 6^th singles by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.  With the win, the first year remained perfect on the year with a 12-0 record in singles play.
• The other four singles contests were tight affairs as each match went into the decisive third set.
• Olson rallied back from a 4-6 first set loss to defeat her counterpart 6-1 and 6-2 in the second and third sets respectively to get the Hawks to their magic number of five wins to claim the championship.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKS
 
The Hawks now receive an automatic berth into the 2022-23 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship Tournament.  They will need to await to see their regional destination as selections will be made after other conferences complete their championships in the spring.  The opening round of the tournament is set for May 5, 2023.
 
HARTWICK COLLEGE
 
One of the oldest colleges in the country, Hartwick has continually evolved for 225 years. The College's exciting new chapter is called FlightPath, a future-focused approach to education. Offering a distinctive blend of curricular, co-curricular and real-world work experiences, FlightPath builds on Hartwick's long history of integrating broad-based studies with experiential learning.
 
Hartwick College is a nationally ranked independent college of the arts and sciences located in picturesque Oneonta, NY, in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The College offers 35 courses of study leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, two master's degrees in the sciences, and a graduate certificate in nursing education. For more information, visit www.Hartwick.edu.