DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the second year in a row, an Embry-Riddle men's tennis duo was able to run through the doubles bracket and come away with a regional title. Seeded third in the 32-team bracket, the ERAU tandem of
Juan Ortiz Couder and
Andres Donayre battled through four matches in three days and won 6-4, 6-4 in the championship to bring home the 2018 ITA South Region doubles crown.
Monday's championship match pitted Ortiz Couder and Donayre against second-seeded Lucas Sanchez and Serdar Bojadjiev of West Florida. The Eagles got off to a strong start earning a break in the Argonauts' first service game. Midway through the set, Sanchez and Bojadjiev got a break of their own to make it 4-3, but the Eagles registered another break to widen the margin to 5-3. After UWF held on their next service game to make it 5-4, the Eagles took the first set on Oritz Couder's serve, 6-4.
"That was a critical moment for us," Ortiz Couder said. "They were playing well and the fact that we were able to hold and close out the set had a big impact on the rest of the match."
Both sides held serve to start the second set until the Eagles registered what they noted was another crucial break to go up 4-3. Donayre held serve in the next game and Sanchez and Bojadjiev won their next service game to make it 5-4 in favor of the Eagles. Once again, it was up to Ortiz Couder to serve out the set. With the game tied at 15-15, the ERAU duo scored three unanswered points to win the title.
"It feels great to win," Ortiz Couder commented. "After losing in singles, I felt that I might not have a chance to win a regional championship for Embry-Riddle, and the fact that we accomplished that means a lot."
Monday's win was the second regional doubles titles in as many seasons for Donayre who became the first player in ERAU men's tennis history to capture back-to-back NCAA II regional titles
"It feels good to win the title two years in a row," Donayre said. "I'm hoping to do better at nationals than I did last year and I'm really confident that with Juan as my partner we can make that happen."
Ortiz Couder and Donayre will be back in action beginning on Oct. 11 when four divisions of collegiate tennis converge on the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, to compete in the 2018 ITA Cup.
