MOBILE, Ala. – The Embry-Riddle men's tennis team will look to defend its 2013 national title when the Eagles take on Georgia Gwinnett in the championship match of the 63rd Annual NAIA Men's Tennis Championship on Saturday. The Eagles secured their spot in the tournament finale with a 5-1 defeat of fourth-seeded Vanguard in semifinal action on Friday afternoon.

Doubles play saw the Eagles take a 2-1 edge. Patrick Besch and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios were the first to strike for the Blue and Gold, as they downed Miguel Saiz-Perez and Justin Seller 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. Over on court one, the top-ranked team of Deni Zmak and Simon Felix extended the Eagle advantage to 2-0 with an 8-5 win over sixth-ranked Stefan Kilchhofer and Roger Muri, but the Lions got a point back when Michael Rjazanov and Daymon Johnson topped Miguel Lopez Gomez and Luke d Caires 8-4 at the third spot.

De Caires rebounded from the doubles loss to notch the first singles point for the Blue and Gold. The freshman dispatched Filip Burnac 6-2, 6-2 in 1:10 at the No. 5 spot to widen the Eagle lead to 3-1.

The next match off the court was the third flight singles where Besch notched a 6-4, 6-2 win over Saiz-Perez for the Eagles' fourth point.

The Eagles won the first set at both the first and fourth singles positions with Zmak topping Kilchofer 6-4 at No. 1 and Felix topping Johnson 6-3 at No. 4. When Felix fell behind Johnson 4-1 in the second, the focus turned to Zmak who was up 5-1 in his second frame. Kilchofer registered a break and a hold to close the gap to 5-3 and in the meantime, Felix steadily worked his way back to a 4-4 tie. Serving for the match, Zmak had to fight hard to put Kilchofer away and while the two battled through deuce after deuce, Felix dispatched Johnson in his next two games to score the clinching point and send the Eagles to the title match.

The ERAU men will be the second Embry-Riddle team competing for a national championship on Saturday as they will take the court at 1 p.m. (CST) after the ERAU women compete for a national title of their own at 9 a.m. (CST). Saturday's championship matches will be streamed live here



Embry-Riddle 5, Vanguard 1

Singles competition
1. Deni Zmak (ERAUMT13) vs. Stefan Kilchhofer (VU) 6-4, 5-3, unfinished
2. Jaime Sanchez-Canama (ERAUMT13) vs. Roger Muri (VU) 6-1, 5-6, unfinished
3. Patrick Besch (ERAUMT13) def. Miguel Saiz-Perez (VU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Simon Felix (ERAUMT13) def. Daymon Johnson (VU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Luke de Caires (ERAUMT13) def. Filip Burnac (VU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Miguel Lopez Gomez (ERAUMT13) vs. Michael Rjazanov (VU) 4-6, 2-3, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Simon Felix/Deni Zmak (ERAUMT13) def. Stefan Kilchhofer/Roger Muri (VU) 8-5
2. Patrick Besch/Jaime Sanchez-Canama (ERAUMT13) def. Miguel Saiz-Perez/Justin Seller (VU) 8-4
3. Michael Rjazanov/Daymon Johnson (VU) def. Miguel Lopez Gomez/Luke de Caires (ERAUMT13) 8-4

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,4)
NAIA National Championship Semifinal
Felix clinched at No. 4 singles