TROY, N.Y. – The Hawks captured their second Empire 8 Championship in the last three years with a 5-0 win over new Empire 8 foe, SUNY Geneseo.
 
THE BASICS
 

• Final Score:  Hartwick 5, SUNY Geneseo 0
• Location:  Troy, N.Y.
• Records:  Hartwick (12-1 Overall), SUNY Geneseo (8-2 Overall)

 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 

• Senior Ryann Ashby (Malta, N.Y.) and 2^nd doubles partner, Gianna Leggieri (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) set the tone for the rest of the Empire 8 Championship match with a quick 8-2 win.
• No more than five minutes later, Hartwick's 3^rd doubles pairing of Lily Vanuga (Springville, N.Y.) and Samantha Lantzy (Valatie, N.Y.) came off the court with their own 8-2 win.
• While tighter than the other two matches, the 1^st doubles duo of Alexandra Krasinska (Pine Island, N.Y.) and Phoebe Olson (Jamestown, N. Dak.) eventually pulled out their match 8-4.
• Leading 3-0 entering singles play, the Hawks were in need of just two wins to capture their second E8 title in three years.
• Vanuga provided the first defeating her 4^th singles opponent 6-3, 6-3.
• Lantzy provided the winning point with a 6-2, 6-3 win at 3^rd singles to give Hartwick the 5-0 win.
• "Geneseo is a tough team," remarked Head Coach Samantha Butcher.  "They are a very consistent team so we had to maintain our level throughout.  We were able to stick to our game plan and turn in dominant performances by everyone."
• Butcher continued, "Everyone on this team made contributions and I could not be more proud and happy with our performance!"
• For her performance across the weekend, Vanuga was named the 2024 Tournament MVP.  The junior went 2-0 in both doubles and singles across the two matches.
• Colleen Marsh (Marcellus, N.Y.) was also the recipient of the Empire 8 Torchbearer Award which is presented to the junior or senior student-athlete with the highest cummulative GPA that is competing in the championship contest.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKS
 
The Hawks turn their attention to their spring season as they prepare for the NCAA Tournament in May.
 
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.