MOBILE, Ala. ? The second-seeded Embry-Riddle men's tennis team went up 2-1 after doubles play, but they were unable to maintain the lead, falling 5-2 to 2008 national finalist and third-seeded Fresno Pacific (24-2) in the semifinals of the NAIA National tournament at the Copeland Cox Tennis Center on Friday.

“I think this is the closest we've come to winning a semifinal match since I've been here,” Embry-Riddle head coach Dave Paschal said. “We played hard today and I'm proud of the effort our guys gave. The fact that we played with four freshmen in our starting line-up makes me excited about the future.”

The first match off the court was at No. 3 doubles where Istvan Bolgar and Peter Francis made quick work of Fabio Silva and Jose Hilla, topping the Sunbird duo 8-2.

The match at No. 1 doubles went back and forth from the first serve, but eventually the top-ranked Eagle tandem of Jan Hoekzema and Carlos Bes Comeras was able to build a slight cushion, going up 7-5 on second-ranked Vicente Joli and Alex Gonzalez. FPU held serve on the next service game to pull within one, leading to a chance for Hoekzema to serve for the match. The final game included four deuces, but in the end Hoekzema and Bes Comeras were able to hold off the FPU pair 8-6 to put the Eagles up 2-0.

The Sunbirds got a point back at the second doubles spot as Marco Feolz and Maxime Adam held off Charlie Rice and Adrian Bayh 8-6.

Gonzalez drew the Sunbirds level at 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Bayh at No. 3 singles and Hilla downed Zander Woodford-Smith by the same score to give FPU a 3-2 lead. Silva bounced back from his doubles loss to top Bes Comeras 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles to increase the lead to 4-2.

Fresno Pacific took a one-set lead in each of the three remaining matches, including winning tie-breakers at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles spots. After falling behind 6-4 to Joli, Hoekzema bounced back to take the second set 6-2 at No. 2. Francis also rebounded from a 7-6 (7-4) loss in the first set to best Foelz in the second.

The momentum seemed to shift slightly in the Eagles' favor, but Rice, who lost the first set 7-6 to Adam, was unable to force a third set, falling 6-3 to give the Sunbirds the win.

Friday's match marked the second straight year that the Eagles' final loss of the season came at the hands of the Sunbirds. They close out the year at 18-3 overall.