DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's tennis team dropped a close 6-3 decision to Johns Hopkins on Tuesday afternoon at the Crotty Tennis Complex. The Eagles, who moved up to No. 6 in the NAIA National Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday, are now 5-4 on the year, while the Blue Jays, who won the 2014 National Team Indoor Championship and are ranked No. 1 in NCAA III, improve to 4-0 overall.
 
Down 3-0 to start their match, ERAU's Kristina Marova and Hui-I Huang closed the gap to 7-6, but JHU's Sydney Lehman and Hailey Hogan held serve in the next game to hold off the Eagle tandem 8-6.
 
Next to them on court two, Elaine Baik and Mike Barthelmass put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1 with an 8-4 win over Paola Montero and Anna Götz. At the No. 3 position, ERAU's Paula Ortiz Couder and Eva Vilar notched the Eagles' first point of the afternoon with an 8-4 defeat of Shannon Herndon and Stephanie Rettig to make the team score 2-1 heading into singles play.
 
At the top singles spot, the Eagles leveled the score at 2-2 when JHU's Amanda Austi retired due to injury after falling behind Huang, 5-2. Rettig reclaimed the lead with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Meena Bennett at the sixth spot, however, the lead was short-lived as Marova notched the Eagles' third point of the day by besting Hogan 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
 
The fifth flight singles match was a hard-fought contest and in the end it was Herndon who was able to hold off Montero 7-6 (2), 7-5 to put the Hawks up 4-3.
 
The last two matches off the court each needed three full sets to decide the outcome. At No. 2 singles, Lehman and Götz each split the first two sets with identical 6-3 scores. The final set went to Lehman who topped Götz 6-3 in the third to score the clincher.
 
At No. 4 singles, Vilar also dropped her first set against Baik 7-5, but rallied to win the second 6-3. Down 4-3 in the third, Vilar broke Baik and held serve to move ahead 5-4, but the JHU No. 5 player registered a break and held serve twice to edge Vilar 7-5 in the third and close out the Blue Jay scoring.
 
The Eagles have a quick turnaround before their next match as they will host 11^th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
 
Johns Hopkins 6, Embry-Riddle 3
 
Singles
1. Hui-I Huang (ERAUWT13) def. Amanda Austi (JHUW) 5-2, retired
2. Sydney Lehman (JHUW) def. Anna Götz (ERAUWT13) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Kristina Marova (ERAUWT13) def. Hailey Hogan (JHUW) 6-2, 6-3
4. Elaine Baik (JHUW) def. Eva Vilar (ERAUWT13) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
5. Shannon Herndon (JHUW) def. Paola Montero (ERAUWT13) 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
6. Stephanie Rettig (JHUW) def. Meena Bennett (ERAUWT13) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. Sydney Lehman/Hailey Hogan (JHUW) def. Kristina Marova/Hui-I Huang (ERAUWT13) 8-6
2. Elaine Baik/Mikey Barthelmass (JHUW) def. Paola Montero/Anna Götz (ERAUWT13) 8-4
3. Paula Oritz Couder/Eva Vilar (ERAUWT13) def. Shannon Herndon/Stephanie Rettig (JHUW) 8-4
 
Match Notes:
Johns Hopkins 4-0
Embry-Riddle 5-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,6,3,5,2,4)
ERAU ranked No. 7 in NAIA
JHU ranked No. 1 in NCAA III
Lehman clinched at No. 2 singles