SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University's men tennis team defeated No. 2 (NAIA) Embry Riddle 7-2 on Thursday afternoon at the Saint Leo Tennis Complex.
The Lions improve to 5-1 on the season while the Eagles pick up their first loss and return home 4-1.
The Green and Gold began by sweeping the Eagles in the doubles round. The Lions duo of Egor Panyushkin and Netanel Alcabas defeated Carlos Becke and Fabian Zierleyn 8-5 for the first win and set the tone for the rest of the round. Shortly after, Fons Verberne and Jacobo Gonzalez-Tarrio finished off Luke de Caires and Miguel Lopez-Gomez with a final score of 8-6. The #1 doubles duo of Alex Theiler and Bruno Sisti outdueled the No. 1 ranked NAIA doubles tandem Deni Zmak and Jaime Sanchez-Canama by score of 8-6 to conclude the sweep of doubles action.
The Lions earned 4 more wins in the singles round over the Eagles. Alcabas defeated Becke in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-2) while Sisti continued his success as he defeated Zierleyn in straight sets. Shortly after the first round of singles concluded, Guillaume Vanelven battled Lopez-Gomez in a short 2 sets (6-2), ending with a win. With the match decided, Gonzalez-Tarrio defeated Rodolfo Arreygue in a one set 8-6 to finish play as Saint Leo defeated Embry-Riddle 7-2.
Top-ranked Zmak defeated Theiler in the top flight while No. 15 Sanchez-Camana earned the Eagles other win with a straight-set victory over Panyushkin by 6-4 and 7-5 sets.
The Lions will meet Concordia (N.Y.) on Tuesday, March 3rd at 2:30 p.m. in St. Augustine, Fla. to continue their season.
For the latest news, updates, and information on Saint Leo men's tennis, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
