MATCH CENTRAL
No. 2 Embry-Riddle (3-0, 1-0) vs. Southeastern (2-2, 1-2)
DATE: Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015
CITY: Lakeland, Fla.
SITE: Edgewood Tennis Complex
TIME: 12 a.m.
SERIES: ERAU leads 10-0
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. Southeastern, 8-0 on April 7,  2014

FIRST SERVE
• Embry-Riddle is in its 27th season of competition
• Deni Zmak and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios are ranked No. 1 doubles team in the country, and Zmak is ranked No. 1in singles
• Head Coach Dave Paschal is in his 11th season as the Eagles' head coach.
• Embry-Riddle and Flagler are meeting in men's tennis for the 11th time

ABOUT THE EAGLES
The second-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team improved to 3-0 on the year with an 8-1 defeat of NCAA II No. 34 Florida Southern on Feb. 14. The Eagles are looking to continue defense of their regular season conference title and bring a 1-0 record into Thursday's match.
 
ERAU's last time out saw the top-ranked duo of Deni Zmak and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios earn the first point for the Eagles, downing Derek Bell and Fabian Lundberg 8-2 at the top doubles spot. The match at No. 3 doubles saw Miguel Lopez Gomez and Luke de Caires make it 2-0 for the Eagles with an 8-3 win against Blaine Miller and Brian Slivonik. At the second spot, both sides held serve until the ERAU pair of Fabian Zierlyn and Carlos Becke registered a break and a hold to go up by two on the way to an 8-6 win over Laurent Mailloux and Charles Garneau.
 
Zierlyn was the first to finish his singles contest, besting Garneau 6-1, 6-3 on court four, and he was followed just moments later by Sanchez-Canamares, who dispatched Mailloux 6-1, 6-1 at the second flight to score the clinching point.
 
Zmak leads the Eagles with 15 singles wins and hast teamed up with Sanchez-Canamares for 15 wins in doubles play. Freshamn Rodolgo Arreygue is undefeated in singles at 6-0 on the year.

ABOUT THE FIRE
Southeastern is among those teams receivng votes according to the latest NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 poll released on Feb. 17. The Fire are 2-2 overa and earned their first conference win of the year with a 7-2 decision against Webber International on Feb. 17.
 
The Fire return six individuals fromt the 2014 roster, including Gelawdiyos Haile and David Veliz who advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 USTA/ITA Florida Regional.

THE ERAU-SEU SERIES
Thursday's contest marks the 11th meeting between the Embry-Riddle and Southeastern in men's tennis teams. ERAU has won all 10 of the previous meetings, including an 8-0 decision against the Fire last season (April 7, 2014).

The Last Meeting
Playing without the services of senior Simon Felix who was out due to illness, ERAU Head Coach Dave Paschal had to make some adjustments to the lineup. In doubles, Patrick Besch and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios earned their first win of the year at the top doubles spot, downing Gelawdiyos Haile and Akeem Byron 8-4. Miguel Lopez Gomez Luke de Caires earned an 8-2 win over Rob Laskin/Nate Gangelhoff at their accustomed third doubles position, while Deni Zmak and Juan Verberne teamed up for the first time and recorded an 8-4 victory over Andrew Dickens and Jordan Harris at the second spot.

The Eagles won all five of their completed singles matches in straight sets, beginning with Sanchez-Canamares' 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Dickens at the second spot. Lopez Gomez followed him off the court with his 6-0, 6-1 win over Gangelhoff on court five to registering the deciding point for the Blue and Gold.

Next to finish was Besch who topped Harris 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Zmak held off Haile 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1, and de Caires topped Byron 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4.

Juan Verberne won the first set against Laskin, 6-2, and was ahead 4-2 in the second, but the players were unable to finish the match as severe weather brought the contest to a premature end.

BY THE NUMBERS
383 - All-time wins in ERAU Men's Tennis history
199 - Eagle victories under guidance of Head Coach Dave Paschal
71 - Conference wins in program history
15 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
11 - Seasons of competition with Dave Paschal at the helm
11 - Regular season conference championships
7 – Individual singles national titles
6 – Conference tournament titles
4 – Individual doubles national titles
1 – NAIA National team title

EAGLES IN THE RANKINGS
The Eagles are ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 poll, marking the 10th consecutive season that ERAU Men's Tennis is ranked among the nation's top five. The Eagles have three student-athletes ranked among the nation's Top 50, including No. 1 Deni Zmak and No. 15 Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios. Zmak and Felix also comprise the top-ranked doubles team in the nation while Miguel Lopez Gomez and Luke de Caires are ranked 24th.