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

Feb. 8, 2014 • Daytona Beach, Fla. • St. Thomas Courts All-Time Series Record: ERAU leads 18-4

ST. THOMAS (1-2) RANK: NR

MATCH CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. St. Thomas
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014
CITY: MIami, Fla.
SITE: STU Courts
TIME: 1 p.m.
SERIES: ERAU leads 18-4
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. St. Thomas, 9-0, March 7, 2013

FIRST SERVE
• Embry-Riddle Men's Tennis is in its 26th season of competition
• Dave Paschal is in his 10th season as the Eagles' head coach
• Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas are meeting in men's tennis for the 24th time.


THE EAGLES
The Embry-Riddle men's tennis team will be looking for its first action of the 2014 season as the Eagles' season opener against Flagler was rescheduled due to rain.

ST. THOMAS
The Bobcats return nine players for last year's squad that finished 7-10 overall and placed fifth in The Sun Conference standings with a 3-4 league record.

THE ERAU –STU SERIES
Saturday's contest marks the 24th meeting between the Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas men's tennis teams. The Eagles are 18-4 lead all-time series against the Bobcats, including a 9-0 decision in the last meeting between the two schools on March 7, 2013.
 
THE LAST MEETING
The top-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team improved its Sun Conference record to 5-0 with a 9-0 win against St. Thomas (4-5, 2-3) in the Eagles' third match of the week, Thursday at the Crotty Tennis Complex. Thursday's victory marked the Eagles' fifth shutout of the year and ran their record to 8-2 overall and 5-0 in league action.
 
Doubles play saw the Eagles drop a total of just three games as Chris Freeman and J.R. Leonik bested Nicolas Etienne and Arturo Romero 8-1, Deni Zmak and Anthony Grasso blanked Grover Ordonez and Juan Bravo 8-0 and Simon Felix and Kevin Chaouat downed Alain Weil and Joshua Rosner 8-1 to complete the doubles sweep and give the Blue and Gold a 3-0 advantage heading into singles.
 
In doubles and singles play combined, Zmak surrendered just two games as he easily dispatched Etienne 6-0, 6-1 to put the Eagles up 4-0. The next match off the court was at No. 2 singles where Felix notched his 10th win of the year with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Bravo to assure the Eagles of the win.
 
Grasso was the next to finish his match at the third position and he held off a late charge by Ordonez, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), to extend the Eagle advantage to 6-0. Miguel Lopez Gomez notched a 6-3, 6-3 win over Romero, which was followed by Spennare's 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Rosner at No. 5. Chaouat secured the shutout with a 6-1, 6-3 decision against Ariel Listo Arqul on court six.

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.