VALDOSTA, Ga. – The 25th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's tennis team pushed four singles matches to decisive third sets but came up short against No. 19 Valdosta State on the road on Friday, falling to the Blazers 6-1. Friday's loss was the first of the 2020 season for the Eagles who now stand at 4-1 on the year. VSU improved to 4-2 with the win.
The Eagles got off to a strong start in doubles as the 22nd-ranked senior pairing of
Juan Ortiz Couder and
Andres Donayre upended eighth-ranked Yohan Niguyen and Florian Simbozel 6-3 at the top spot. VSU's Robert Cizek and Adam Kalivoda registered a doubles victory for the Blazers with their 6-1 win over
Fernando Alonso and
Andrej Omeragic on court three.
The deciding match at the No. 2 spot went to ERAU as
Alexis Guedy and
Lucas Bos bested Luca Mack and Edward Etty to win the doubles point for the Blue and Gold.
Singles play saw Etty bounce back from the doubles loss to pull the Blazers level with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bos at the fourth position. Playing on court one, seventh-ranked Nguyen bested Ortiz Couder 6-3, 6-4 to put VSU up 2-1.
The remaining four singles matches all went to three sets making the length of Friday's contest three hours and 40 minutes. In the match on court two, Simbozel edged Donayre 7-6 (4) in the first set, but Donayre came back to win the second 6-3. The third set was all Simbozel as he topped Donayre 6-1 to make it 3-1 Blazers.
At the No. 5 spot, Alonso won the first set 6-4, but Cizek responded with a 6-4 win in the second and took the third 6-2 to clinch the victory for Valdosta State.
After dropping the first set 6-3,
Tim Loerwink battled back to win a tiebreaker in the second set, but again the Blazers were able to win the deciding set as Kalivoda, their sixth flight player, won 6-2.
Like Loerwink, Guedy pulled out a tough second-set victory (7-6 (9-7)) after falling in the first set 6-3, but Mack won the super tiebreaker 10-3 to close out the win.
The Eagles are back at the Crotty Tennis Complex at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday to host Davis & Elkins.
