EMBRY-RIDDLE (0-0) RANK: 1st Follow @ERAUTennis

Feb. 5, 2014 • Daytona Beach, Fla. • Crotty Tennis Complex All-Time Series Record: Flagler leads 16-6

FLAGLER (0-1) RANK: NR

MATCH CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. Flagler
DATE: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: Crotty Tennis Complex
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
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SERIES: ERAU leads 5-1
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. Flagler, 5-0, April 21, 2006

FIRST SERVE
• Embry-Riddle Men's Tennis is beginning its 26th season of competition
• Dave Paschal is in his 10th season as the Eagles' head coach
• Embry-Riddle and Flagler are meeting in men's tennis for the seventh time.
• The last meeting between the Eagles and the Saints was on April 21, 2006, the Saints' last year as a member of The Sun Conference.

THE EAGLES
The top-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team opens its 2014 campaign at home at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday against NCAA Division II foe Flagler. The Eagles are looking to build on the most successful season in program history, which saw the Blue and Gold celebrated its 25th anniversary by capturing the program's first-ever team national title and posting a program-best 24-2 overall record.

The Eagles return five individuals from last year's national championship squad, including three of the top five players in the lineup. ERAU also has the luxury of having the last two ITA/NAIA singles national champions in this year's lineup, including 2012 champion Patrick Besch and 2013 champion Deni Zmak. Besch and Zmak also have national doubles titles to their credit as Besch teamed up with Adrian Bayh to bring home the doubles crown in 2011 and Zmak partnered with Simon Felix for the ITA's NAIA and Super Bowl titles this past fall.

Besch and Felix are the lone seniors on this year's roster and they comprised the doubles team that finished as national runner-up in the 2012 ITA doubles championship.

Fresh off his NAIA and Super Bowl singles titles, Zmak is listed at No. 1 in the singles rankings, and he and Felix also top the rankings in doubles.

Also back for the Eagles are junior Jose Suger Saravia and sophomore Miguel Lopez Gomez. Suger Saravia saw limited action in 2013, going 2-2 overall, while Lopez Gomez, currently ranked No. 38, turned in a 14-4 singles ledger, playing the majority of his matches at the No. 5 spot in the singles lineup.

New to this year's team are junior transfer Jaime Sanchez Canamares Rios and freshman Luke De Caires, who along with redshirt freshman Juan Verberne, will be looking see playing time for the Eagles.  Sanchez Canamares Rios comes to Embry-Riddle after competing at Oklahoma Christian for one season before that program was discontinued. He posted a 22-1 singles record and was 11-2 in doubles play, helping the OCU Eagles to the 2012 NAIA national title.

De Caires posted a 5-1 in singles play in the fall and advanced to the third round of the USTA/ITA Regional tournament, and he teamed up with Verberne for a 4-2 doubles record.

FLAGLER
Flagler enters Wednesday's match with an 0-1 record following a 7-2 loss to NCAA II No. 8 St. Leo on Saturday. Under the guidance of first-year head coach Thomas Hipp, Flagler returns seven players from last season's 4-14 squad, including David Espinosa, Inigo Landaluce, Justen Louis, Jose Martinez, Uriel Oquendo, Bruno Padiha and Dirnaj Saunders. Martinez is ranked No. 42 in the ITA/NCAA II national singles poll.

THE ERAU-FC SERIES
Saturday's contest marks the 23rd meeting between the Embry-Riddle and Flagler men's tennis teams. The Saints are 16-6 all-time against the Eagles, but ERAU has won each of the last six meetings, including a 5-0 shutout (April 21, 2006) of Flagler in conference tournament play in the Saints' last season of competition in the league.

BY THE NUMBERS
359 - All-time wins in ERAU Men's Tennis history
175 - Eagle victories under guidance of Head Coach Dave Paschal
63 - Conference wins in program history
14 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
10 - Seasons of competition with Dave Paschal at the helm
10 - Regular season conference championships
6 – Individual singles national titles
5 – Conference tournament titles
3 – Individual doubles national titles
1 – NAIA National team title

EAGLES IN THE RANKINGS
The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 poll, marking the ninth consecutive season that ERAU Men's Tennis is ranked among the nation's top five in the preseason ratings. The Eagles have three student-athletes ranked among the nation's Top 50, including No. 1 Deni Zmak, No. 18 Simon Felix and No. 38 Miguel Lopez Gomez. Zmak and Felix also comprise the top-ranked doubles team in the nation.