MOBILE, Ala.. -- The second-seeded Embry-Riddle men's tennis team advanced to the semifinal round of the 2015 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship courtesy of a 5-1 win over No. 7 Northwestern Ohio, Thursday at the Mobile Tennis Center. The Eagles improved to 20-3 overall, while UNOH ended its season at 19-7. The Eagles will play No. 3 Vanguard at 9 a.m. (CDT) on Friday morning.

At No. 1 doubles, third-ranked Deni Zmak and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios gave the Eagles a 1-0 edge with an 8-5 defeat of sixth-ranked Thommy Johansson and Rick van Gerwin. The Racers were able to even things up when Daniel Rueda and Ronnie Myburgh bested Carlos Becke and Fabian Zierleyn 8-5 on court two.

Th eighth game of the match between ERAU's Miguel Lopez Gomez and Rodolfo Arreygue and UNOH's Ermin Alpan and Akira Kuwada epitomized the battle between the two third-flight tandems. That game alone featured 11 deuces and lasted just under a half hour. With Lopez Gomez serving, the Eagles won the game to tie the score at 4-4, and Arreygue and Lopez Gomez went on to pull out a 9-7 win, giving ERAU a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.

For the second day in a row, Zmak was the first to record a singles win for ERAU when he blanked 10th-ranked Rueda 6-0, 6-0 at the top singles position. Playing at the fourth spot, Becke was next off the court, extending the Eagle advantage to 4-1 with his 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Alpan.

The remaining four matches were all tightly contested with the Eagles managing to pull out first-set wins in three of the four. The clincher came on court five where Luke de Caires held off Myburgh 6-4, 7-5 to propel the Eagles into their 11th semifinal match in as many seasons.


#2 Embry-Riddle 5, Northwestern Ohio 1

 Singles competition
1. Deni Zmak (ERAUMT14) def. Daniel Rueda (UNOH) 6-0, 6-0
2. Jaime Sanchez-Canama (ERAUMT14) vs. Rick van Gerwin (UNOH) 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
3. Fabian Zierleyn (ERAUMT14) vs. Thommy Johansson (UNOH) 7-5, 2-5, unfinished
4. Carlos Becke (ERAUMT14) def. Emin Alpan (UNOH) 6-2, 6-1
5. Luke de Caires (ERAUMT14) def. Ronnie Myburgh (UNOH) 6-4, 7-5
6. Rodolfo Arreygue (ERAUMT14) vs. Garbiel Cleto (UNOH) 6-7 (4-7), 4-2, unfinished

 Doubles competition
1. Deni Zmak/Jaime Sanchez-Canama (ERAUMT14) def. Rick van Gerwin/Thommy Johansson (UNOH) 8-5
2. Daniel Rueda/Ronnie Myburgh (UNOH) def. Fabian Zierleyn/Carlos Becke (ERAUMT14) 8-5
3. Miguel Lopez Gomez/Rodolfo Arreygue (ERAUMT14) def. Emin Alpan/Akira Kuwada (UNOH) 9-7

Match Notes:
Embry-Riddle 20-3; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,5)
NAIA National Championship quarterfinals
De Caires clinched at No. 5 singles