The No. 7 ranked Emory men's tennis team flocked south to Florida for its spring break trip, playing in a couple of dual matches in the Sunshine State over the course of the week. Emory played its final match of the trip on Wednesday afternoon, taking on the Florida Southern College Moccasins, the No. 27 ranked team in NCAA Division II. While the Eagles battled the Moccasins to the wire, forcing a winner-takes-all match on court one, Florida Southern ultimately claimed victory, securing a 4-3 win after winning four singles matches. The match was played at Florida Southern's Wynee Tennis Center in Lakeland, Florida.
 
The No. 1 doubles tandem of junior Dean Kamenev and freshman Ajay Kartik looked to extend their wining streak to four straight matches on Wednesday afternoon. Yet, the Moccasin duo of Chris Fok Kow and Mario Garoz were too much for the Eagles to handle as they took down the pair of Eagles, 6-3.
 
The Eagles picked up a win on court three to bring things level in doubles play. Graduate students Efe Comu and Charley Force played to a 6-3 decision, leaving it up to the battle on court two to decide who would take the match's doubles point. It was the duo of freshman Ruilin Feng and sophomore Christian Liew looking to secure the doubles point. The pair of underclassmen stayed hot, winning the match 7-5, marking the duo's fifth straight win.
 
After securing the doubles point, the Eagles needed to win at least three singles matches to take a win over their Division II opponent. Yet, the Moccasins' depth shined through as they stormed back to take four wins during the singles portion to win the match.
 
Comu competed in the No. 2 position on Wednesday afternoon, going up against Florida Southern's Garoz. Comu would lose in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) and was the first match to finish as Garoz brought things level at one point apiece. Freshman Alec Anghel made an appearance in the singles rotation for Emory, playing in the No. 5 positoin. Anghel retook the lead for Emory, topping his opponent in straight sets (6-3, 6-3). Anghel has now won six straight singles matches, five of which coming in dual matches.
 
Kartik, making just his fourth singles appearance during dual matches this spring, competed on court six for the Eagles. The rookie was on the wrong side of a straight set sweep, though, with a line of 6-3, 6-2. Liew was on court four, looking to retake the lead after the Moccasins tied things up at 2-2. However, he too dropped his match in straight sets, though, falling to Matthew Hewitt (6-3, 6-2).
 
With the Moccasins on the brink of a victory, Kamenev needed a win to keep the Eagles' hopes alive. He did just that, gutting out a straight set on court three with a final line of 6-3, 6-4. Kamenev has now won three straight singles matches.
 
Kamenev's win forced a winner take all showdown on court one between Emory's Feng and Florida Southern's Fok Kow. The battle between the two squads' ones was the lone match to reach a third set. Feng took the first set, 6-3, before Fok Know took the second set, also at 6-3. While the rookie pushed the 2024 All-American to the brink, Fok Kow ultimately pulled away in the third set with a 6-2 victory to secure a win for Florida Southern. The loss snapped what was a nine-match winning streak for Feng in singles play.
 
The win drops Emory's dual match record to 7-3 this spring. The Eagles will have the next couple of weeks off from action before returning for a clash with Georgia Gwinnett College on Thursday, March 27^th. The match is set for a 12:00 PM start on the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Georgia.