LAKE WALES, Fla. –The top-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team continued its dominance in Sun Conference play, defeating 17th-ranked Warner (11-1, 6-1) 8-1 to capture the program's 10th consecutive conference regular season title. Thursday's match was a battle between the last two undefeated teams in the league, and in the end it was the Eagles who were able to snap the Royals' 11-match winning streak to improve to 16-3 overall.

Under the guidance of 10th-year head coach Dave Paschal, the Eagles, who were a perfect 7-0 in the league in 2014, extended their unbeaten streak in conference play to 58-0, a record that dates back to 2005.

A sweep of all three doubles points propelled the Blue and Gold to a 3-0 lead early in the contest. Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios got the scoring started for ERAU with an 8-0 shuout of Juan Espinel and Juan Aranzazu on the second court. Top-ranked Deni Zmak and Simon Felix made it 2-0 with their 8-3 victory over No. 21 Julian Ramirez Luna and Patrick Frandji at No. 1 doubles and Luke de Caires and Miguel Lopez Gomez completed the sweep with an 8-6 win over Daniel Mora and Vitor Schlepper.

The Eagles were able to add to their tally quickly in singles play as Mora was forced to retire due to injury after falling behind de Caires, 3-0 at the No. 5 spot. One of two seniors in the Eagle lineup, Besch scored the clincher with his 6-3, 6-4 win over Espinel on court three.

Ranked No. 1 in the NAIA singles poll, Zmak was the next to complete his match, handing No. 32 Ramirez a 6-2, 6-3 loss at the top spot and Lopez Gomez made it 7-0 in favor of the Eagles with his 7-5, 6-0 win over Schlepper on court six.

The two remaining matches each went to three sets and resulted in a point for each team. At No. 4 singles, Felix, the other ERAU senior, rallied from a 6-0, first-set loss to Aranzazu and took the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4 to notch his 20th singles win of the year. The final match saw Frandji hold off Sanchez-Canamares 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 for the Royals' only point of the afternoon.


By winning regular season title, the Eagles have earned the No. 1 seed in the six-team Sun Conference tournament, which takes place April 17-19 at ERAU's Crotty Tennis Complex. Match times and pairings are to be determined.

#1 Embry-Riddle 8, #17 Warner 1
Singles competition
1. Deni Zmak (ERAUMT13) def. Julian Ramirez (WUM) 6-2, 6-3
2. Patrick Frandji (WUM) def. Jaime Sanchez-Canama (ERAUMT13) 6-4, 3-6, 12-10
3. Patrick Besch (ERAUMT13) def. Juan Espinel (WUM) 6-3, 6-4
4. Simon Felix (ERAUMT13) def. Juan Aranzazu (WUM) 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Luke de Caires (ERAUMT13) def. Daniel Mora (WUM) 3-0, retired
6. Miguel Lopez Gomez (ERAUMT13) def. Vitor Schepper (WUM) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Deni Zmak/Simon Felix (ERAUMT13) def. Julian Ramirez/Patrick Frandji (WUM) 8-3
2. Jaime Sanchez-Canama/Patrick Besch (ERAUMT13) def. Juan Espinel/Juan Aranzazu (WUM) 8-0
3. Miguel Lopez Gomez/Luke de Caires (ERAUMT13) def. Vitor Schepper/Daniel Mora (WUM) 8-6

Match Notes:
Embry-Riddle 16-3, 7-0; National ranking #1
Warner 11-1, 6-1; National ranking #17
Besch clinched at No. 3 singles