Men’s Tennis Tournament Crown Returns to Daytona Beach
SAVANNAH, Ga. – For the second straight year, The Sun Conference men’s tennis tournament championship trophy was presented to the Embry-Riddle men’s tennis team after the top-seeded Eagles downed No. 2 seed St. Thomas 5-1 in the title match at the Bacon Park Tennis Courts on Sunday. With the victory, the Eagles secured a spot in the NAIA National Tournament that takes place at the Copeland Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., May 18-22.
The Eagles opened the match with a strong doubles performance, dropping just six games in three doubles contests. First to finish was the ERAU tandem of Charlie Rice and Zander Woodford-Smith who improved their 2010 doubles record to 10-2 with an 8-1 defeat of Andrew Rifkin and Federico Acevedo at the No. 3 spot. Next off the court was the Eagle team of Jan Hoekzema and Peter Francis who registered an 8-2 victory over Adrian Escarate and Esteban Mesa at the top spot. Pairing up for only the second time this season, seniors Luke Maricic and Istvan Bolgar completed the doubles sweep with an 8-2 decision defeat of Jeremy Bache and Gonzalo Gayoso.
The Bobcats got a point back after Hoekzema had to retire against Escarate at the No. 1 position in the singles lineup. Bolgar blanked Bache 6-0, 6-0 to Maricic followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6 s ingles to clinch the win.
The Eagles are now 18-5 overall, while the Bobcats move to 11-6 on the year.