DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The Embry-Riddle men's tennis team secured its fifth consecutive regular season title in The Sun Conference, downing Warner 9-0, Monday at the Crotty Tennis Complex. The Eagles (13-2) closed out the conference slate with a 5-0 record, extending their unbeaten streak in conference play to five straight seasons.
The Embry-Riddle men experimented with a new line-up as two new doubles pairings took the court, along with a new trio in the top half of the line-up. The tandem of
Istvan Bolgar and
Peter Francis represented the only constant in the doubles line-up and they made quick work of Leandro Palaceus and Josh Schutts, winning 8-0.
Alex Perez and
Charlie Rice paired up for the first time this season and recorded an 8-0 win of their own over LJ Lopez and Kevin Joyner at No. 1. Sean de la Bastide and
Zander Woodford-Smith, another first-time pairing, topped Kyle Mahlan and Andres Palaceus 8-1 to complete the ERAU doubles sweep.
The Eagles dropped only one game in singles play as five of the six ERAU singles players earned shutouts. Woodford-Smith was the first to notch a win, downing Mahlan 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3. Francis, Rice and Bolgar each registered shutouts at the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively with Francis scoring the clincher.
Monday was a day of career firsts for Perez who registered his first dual match shutout in his first appearance at the top spot, besting Lopez 6-0, 6-0.
De la Bastide also made a significant jump in the line-up topping Joyner 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2.
The Eagles next contest will be against NCAA DII Lynn who is ranked third in the most recent ITA national poll. The match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday.