RICHMOND, Ky. – In a match that lasted more than six hours, the Eastern Kentucky University men’s tennis team outlasted Jacksonville State Friday afternoon in the Greg Adams Tennis Center, 4-3. The Colonels have now won five straight matches to improve to 13-8 overall and 4-0 in the OVC. Jacksonville State falls to 14-2 and 3-1.

Eastern got on the board first following an exciting set of doubles matches which came down to a tie-breaker at No. 1 doubles. JSU’s Scott Robertson and Eduardo Saratt held a match point at 6-5, but sophomore Alex Das Izquierdo and freshman Carles Pons Escanilla rallied to take the final three points of the breaker.

Jacksonville State rebounded in singles to take a 3-2 lead before EKU freshman Parul Verma won the No. 5 singles match to force a deciding match at No. 6 singles. In that contest, Pons Escanilla lost the first set to JSU’s Steffen Solomon, but battled back to win the second and third sets.

“These were two evenly matched teams today,” Eastern Kentucky head coach Rob Oertel said. “I have a strange feeling we could see them again in the league tournament. I’m also proud of the way Carles Pons Escanilla came through in such a pivotal match.”

The Colonels are back in action tomorrow, April 4, with a home match against UT Martin. Match time has been moved to 2 p.m.

Eastern Kentucky 4, Jacksonville State 3

Singles
1. Alex Das Izquierdo (EKU) def. Scott Robertson (JSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Eduardo Saratt (JSU) def. Carlos Valdenebro (EKU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Bernardo Bachino (JSU) def. Mel Segota (EKU) 7-6, 2-6, 7-6
4. Gustavo Holz (JSU) def. Niklas Schroeder (EKU) 6-4, 7-6
5. Parul Verma (EKU) def. Chris Duke (JSU) 6-4, 7-6
6. Carles Pons Escanilla (EKU) def. Steffen Solomon (JSU) 6-7, 7-5, 6-3

Doubles
1. Das Izquierdo/Pons Escanilla (EKU) def. Robertson/Saratt (JSU) 9-8 (6)
2. Bachino/Holz (JSU) def. Schroeder/Verma (EKU) 8-5
3. Segota/Valdenebro (EKU) def. Duke/Solomon (JSU) 9-7

Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6*