DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – No.7 Embry-Riddle Men's Tennis suffered its first Sunshine State Conference loss of the season on Saturday, falling to fifth-ranked Barry 5-2 at the Crotty Tennis Complex. The Eagles are now 5-2 and 2-1 in conference play, while the Bucs, fresh off their NCAA II Indoor national title, improve to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the SSC.
Barry took an early one-point lead after sweeping all three doubles matches.
Playing at No. 3 singles,
Alexis Guedy dispatched Alejandro Gallego 6-0, 6-1 to give the Eagles their first point of the afternoon. The Bucs reclaimed the lead when Amau Rodriguez topped
Lukas Schneider 6-2, 6-2, but
Juan Ortiz Couder bested Alessandro Giulato to tie the team score once again.
In the match at No. 2 singles, Alejandro Ortega won the first set against
Andres Donayre 6-2. The ninth-ranked Ortega had his hands full against Donayre in the second frame, but he managed to edge the ERAU senior 7-6 (3) for the Bucs' third point of the day.
The match at No. 4 singles also featured a tightly contested second set between Michele Ifitimie and Ignasi Forcano. In the end Forcano managed to hold off Iftimie 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) to record the clinching point for Barry.
The Eagles step away from conference play on Monday to host Rose-Hulman at 3:30 p.m. at the Crotty Tennis Complex.
