LAKELAND, Fla. – Embry-Riddle Men's Tennis earned its second Sunshine State Conference road win of the year on Saturday, toppling 10th-ranked Florida Southern (14-4, 1-2 SSC) 4-3 at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center. The win pushes the Eagles to fourth place in the conference standings at 3-2, while their overall ledger goes to 12-4.
 
The Eagles claimed an early one-point advantage in a hard-fought doubles battle. The Moccasins easily won the contest at No. 1 doubles, but the matches at the other two positions went to a tiebreaker. At No. 3 doubles, Alvaro Diaz Rodrigo and Safar Rasulov held off Matteo Feggi and George Russell 7-6 (4). The match at the No. 2 spot saw 24th-ranked Fernando Alonso and Caelan Potts outlast Bosko Boskovic and Inaki Braun Simo 7-6 (13-11) to clinch the doubles point for the Blue & Gold.
 
Boskovic bounced back to notch a 6-3, 6-2 win against Potts at No. 5 singles. No. 17 Chris Fok Kow topped 36th-ranked Joshua Nuyts by the same score on court two to put the Mocs up 2-1, but Alonso downed Braun Simo 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 to tie the team score at 2-2.
 
The score was still tied at the conclusion of the next two matches as No. 45 Mario Garoz pulled out a three-set (6-0, 4-6, 6-0) win over Michele Ifitmie and ERAU's 32nd-ranked top-flight player Rasulov downed No. 35 Russell 6-4, 6-2.
 
For much of the dual match season, Diaz Rodrigo has been the first to finish his singles matches. Saturday's outing was a different story. In a match that lasted close to two and a half hours, the junior rallied from a first-set loss to defeat Edoardo Melindo 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to clinch in the Eagle win.
 
The Eagles are on the road again on Wednesday, making the short trip to St. Augustine to face No. 3 Flagler at 3 p.m.