The No.3-ranked men's tennis team survived a scare from Shorter University on Tuesday, winning a close match by a score of 5-4. The Eagles have won three straight matches and now stand at 11-5 on the season.
Emory had no answer for Shorter's one-two punch of sophomore Romain Lefevre and sophomore Romain Ferreira. The duo defeated the Eagles' number one doubles team of senior Elliott Kahler and junior Nick Szczurek, 8-3, but the Eagles bounced back with victories in the two and three spots, with the teams of junior Jackson Isaacs and junior Eric Sedelman and junior Ayush Bajoria and freshman Will Adams both breezing through their matches en route to a 2-1 advantage.
Lefebre and Ferreira struck again in the first two singles matches, with Lefevre defeating Emory sophomore Alex Ruderman and Ferreira surviving a battle with Eagles' freshman Rafe Mosetick. A Kahler loss in the third singles spot gave Shorter a clean sweep of the first three matches.
Emory bounced back in the final three. Adams won a tough, three-set decision in the fourth spot, while senior Dylan Wright did the same in the fifth. In what would prove to be the rubber match, Szczurek cruised past his opponent in straight sets, locking up the win for the Eagles.
The Eagles have one match left on the season–Tuesday against North Carolina Wesleyan College–before postseason play begins. The match against NCSU will take place at home at the Woodruff P.E. Center (WoodPEC) at 1:30 p.m.
– By Ryan Smith
