Oct. 7, 2002

Stony Brook, N.Y. - It took only one season of competition for the Stony Brook men's and women's tennis teams to make their presence known in the America East Conference.

After an outstanding regular season, the Seawolves took it one step further by advancing to the championship match in both the men's and women's America East Tournament.

In just three seasons, head coach Gary Glassman led his teams to the brink of a tournament title, proving that Stony Brook is not far from achieving its first-ever conference title at the Division I level.

A Run for the Title: The Stony Brook women's team advanced to the America East finals with a vengeance. The second-seeded Seawolves shut out Albany and Binghamton for a spot in the championship match.

Against both Albany and Binghamton, Stony Brook won all three doubles matches and swept the singles matches in straight sets.

The top-seeded Terriers stopped the Seawolves' run, as Boston University won its eighth consecutive conference title.

Men's Team Falls Just Short: The Seawolves men's team went on a run of its own, facing Hartford in the championship.

Stony Brook, also seeded second in the men's competition, received a bye in the first round and then pulled out a 4-3 victory against Binghamton.

The Bearcats won two of three doubles matches to earn the doubles point, but Stony Brook countered with four singles victories. All four matches went three sets, with two Seawolves earning comeback victories after dropping the first set.

Egil Anonsen captured a victory at No. 2 singles in the championship against Hartford, but that was all the Seawolves could manage as the Hawks went on to the 4-1 victory to earn the title.

On a Roll: After a solid fall season, the Stony Brook women's team struggled as they opened the spring, dropping its first three dual matches. However, from there the Seawolves went on a tear, winning their last nine dual matches of the regular season. With two victories in the America East Championships, the Seawolves stretched that streak to 11 dual match victories.

Finishing Up Strong: After winning two of its four dual matches in the fall season, the Seawolves men's team also peaked in the spring. Stony Brook won eight of its final nine matches to close the regular season.

America East: The women's team showed it could compete with the best in the conference, winning its first five America East dual matches before falling in the championship. During the regular season, the Seawolves shut out Albany and Hartford and pulled out a 4-3 victory over Binghamton. Rematches with Albany and Binghamton in the tournament led to two more shutouts for the Seawolves.

Boston University was the only conference opponent to defeat Stony Brook with a 4-0 victory in the championship match.

Newcomers Start Strong: Newcomers played key roles for both the men's and women's teams last season. On the women's side, transfer Georgia Bushell was solid in the middle of the lineup, fashioning an 18-7 singles record and 13-6 in doubles. Patricia Gomez came to the team in the spring and made an immediate impact at No. 2 singles, going 10-5 in singles play and 9-5 in doubles.

Despite being only a freshman, James Carpenter was solid at No. 6 singles for the men's team, compiling a 13-7 singles record and 13-6 in doubles.

Dominating the Island: Stony Brook did not drop a match to any of its island rivals in either men's or women's competition. The women's team defeated Manhattan, Hofstra and St. John's during the regular season, while the men's team won two matchups against Hofstra in addition to a victory over the Red Storm.