DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The second-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team secured a share of the 2013 Sun Conference regular season title with a 9-0 win over No. 20 Webber International, Wednesday at the Crotty Tennis Complex. The Eagles improved their overall record to 15-2 and are now 6-0 in league play, while the Warriors move to 10-10 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
The Eagles held an early advantage as the Warriors' depleted lineup forced WIU to default at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. With the threat of inclement weather, both coaches agreed to play the singles matches first as opposed to the traditional doubles-first format.
Embry-Riddle quickly built on its 2-0 advantage as
Simon Felix blanked Nickolay Kodinov 6-0, 6-0 at the second spot and
David Spennare, playing his first game of the year at No. 4, downed Firmian Filho 6-2, 6-0. At the top spot, reigning NAIA National Player of the Week
Deni Zmak secured the ERAU victory with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Valentin Bayh.
On court three,
Anthony Grasso took a 5-2 lead in the first set, but had to fight off a fierce rally by Jonathan Cohen to take the set 7-6 (8-6). Grasso took and held on to the lead in the second set to win 6-3, and
Miguel Lopez Gomez closed out the Eagles' singles sweep with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Patricio Henning.
Doubles play saw Felix and
Kevin Chaouat top Kodinov and Filho 8-1 at the second position and Zmak and Freeman sealed the shutout with an 8-2 defeat of Bayh and Cohen at No. 1.
The Eagles will be back in action at 11 a.m. on Saturday when they close out conference play against No. 22 Warner at the Crotty Tennis Complex.