FLORENCE, SC – Sophomores Liam Day and Leonel Gonzalez rallied to win in a tiebreaker and capture the doubles point before 35th-ranked Francis Marion University won five of the six singles matches in straight sets en route to a 6-1 win over visiting Emmanuel College (Ga.),Saturday afternoon (March 26) in Conference Carolinas men's tennis play.
 
Francis Marion improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference with its eighth consecutive win – the longest streak in 16 seasons dating back to a 15-match streak in 2006.
 
Francis Marion will host a pair of conference matches this coming weekend: Friday at 2 p.m. against Lees-McRae College and Saturday at 1 p.m. against King University (Tenn.).
 
FMU sophomore Adam Ernberg and freshman Luis Lopez Sarasa opened doubles play with a 6-1 victory at the No.3 spot, but Emmanuel registered a 6-2 win at the No.2 position.  Trailing at the No.1 slot, Day and Gonzalez rallied to knot the score at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker that the pair won 7-4 to earn the doubles point for FMU.  The rally also kept their season mark unblemished at 9-0.
 
In singles play, freshman Harri Lloyd-Evans upped the margin to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win at the No.2 position, and remained unbeaten on the season at 8-0.  Day won 6-2, 7-5 at the top spot to put FMU up 3-0, while also upping his season mark to 8-1.
 
Freshman Martin Barbera recorded the match-clinching point with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No.4 singles.  Ernberg (7-6 (7-5), 6-2) and Lopez Sarasa (6-1, 6-4) accounted for the other two points with wins at positions No.6 and 5 respectively.
 
 
Men's Tennis Match Results
3/26/2022 at Florence, SC (Kassab Courts)
#35 Francis Marion University 6, Emmanuel College 1
Singles competition
1. Liam Day (FMU) def. Thembo Makhanya (ECMT) 6-2, 7-5
2. Harri Lloyd-Evans (FMU) def. Nathan Benoit (ECMT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Javier Crespo (ECMT) def. Leonel Gonzalez (FMU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
4. Martin Barbera (FMU) def. Hassan Badran (ECMT) 6-2, 6-4
5. Luis Lopez Sarasa (FMU) def. Kornel Kimaszewski (ECMT) 6-1, 6-4
6. Adam Ernberg (FMU) def. Juan Camilo Burgos (ECMT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Liam Day/Leonel Gonzalez (FMU) def. Joan Grosset/Nathan Benoit (ECMT) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Thembo Makhanya/Javier Crespo (ECMT) def. Martin Barbera/Harri Lloyd-Evans (FMU) 6-2
3. Adam Ernberg/Luis Lopez Sarasa (FMU) def. Juan Camilo Burgos/Kornel Kimaszewski (ECMT) 6-1
 
Match Notes:  Emmanuel College 5-10, 1-2
Francis Marion University 8-2 , 2-0; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,4,6,5,3)