The No. 1-ranked Emory men's tennis team came out on the short end of a hotly contest Friday afternoon battle to No. 4-ranked Middlebury. The Eagles suffered their first D-III setback of the spring and saw their record dip to 8-4 after the Panthers came away with a 6-3 triumph, boosting their slate to 10-1. The match was played at the Austin (TX) Tennis Academy.

After Middlebury captured the opening two doubles encounters, senior Aman Manji and sophomore Jonathan Jemison came through with an 8-6 verdict over Allen Jackson and Timo van der Geest at No. 3, narrowing the Panthers' lead to 2-1 in the match.

Middebury emerged victorious in the first four singles matches that were decided en route to the win.  Manji fell, 4-6, 2-6 to Lubomir Cuba at first singles, while the Panthers' Kyle Schlanger put them one point from the win with a 6-4, 7-6 outcome over James Spaulding at the No. 4 spot.  Middlebury sealed things at No. 2 when William de Quant rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6, victory over Jemison.

The Eagles earned the final two points of the match when senior Josh Goodman bested Jackson in the sixth spot (7-5, 6-4), while Alec Josepher edged van der Geest at No. 5 (2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2).  The victory was Goodman's seventh in 10 decisions this spring (6-2 at No. 6), while Josepher raised his record to 8-3 (6-2 at No. 5).

 
Next up for the Eagles is a battle at No. 15-ranked Trinity University on Saturday starting at 10:00 am (CDT).