DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Just a month after capturing the ITA/NAIA national singles title in men's tennis, Patrick Besch has been listed as the top-ranked player according the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's NAIA national singles poll. A junior from Mainz, Germany, Besch etched his name in the ERAU record books, becoming only the second player in school history to win national titles in singles and doubles play after partnering with Adrian Bayh to win the doubles crown in 2011.
 
Besch advanced to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships by virtue of a two-set upset of the 2011 national singles champion and his Embry-Riddle teammate Chris Freeman in the ITA Florida Regional title match. He won the national title by upending the tournament's top seed Nicholas Pinones of Auburn Montgomery in a three-set, 3.5 hour battle. He posted a 13-6 singles record in 2011-12 and goes into spring competition with a perfect 7-0 ledger.
 
Besch also teamed up with fellow junior Simon Felix to claim the USTA/ITA Regional doubles title. The tandem finished as the national runner-up and is ranked second in the doubles poll with a 5-1 record.
 
After spending much of the 2011-12 season as the NAIA's top-ranked singles player, Freeman is in at No. 5 in the 2012-13 preseason singles poll. Freeman anchored the top spot in the ERAU singles lineup in 2012, posting a team-best 23-9 overall record. A first team All-America selection in 2012 and the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Year, he is 7-1 so far this season.
 
After closing out 2011-12 at the No. 10 spot in the doubles ratings, Freeman and sophomore J.R. Leonik are ninth in the preseason doubles poll. The duo battled Besch and Felix for the regional title and are currently 2-2 on the year.
 
Felix was a second team All-America selection in 2012 and enters the spring campaign ranked 13^th nationally. He was 22-5 last season and is 5-2 in singles play in 2012-13.
 
Rounding out the Eagle players appearing in the national singles poll is senior David Spennare. The 2012 recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. National Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, Spennare is in at No. 31 in the rankings. He was 14-2 overall in 2011-12 and posted a 4-2 mark in the fall.