Men's Tennis | 3/12/2024 10:19:00 AM
Emporia State Hornet Men (5-3, 1-0 MIAA/GAC)
vs. #19 Lubbock Christian Chaps (9-1, 0-0 Lone Star Conference)
Tuesday, March 12 • 6:00 p.m. (CT) • San Lando Park • Altamonte Springs, Fla.
vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (5-6, 0-0 Patriot League)
Thursday, March 14 • 11:30 a.m. (CT) • USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
Emporia State Hornet Women (1-4, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. #12 Angelo State Rambelles (9-1, 1-0 Lone Star Conference)
Tuesday, March 12 • 2:00 p.m. (CT) • USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
vs. Lafayette College Leopards (5-4, 0-0 Patriot League)
Thursday, March 14 • 5:00 p.m. (CT) • USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
Up Next: vs. McPherson
Friday, March 22 • 1:00 p.m. • Kossover Family Tennis Complex • Emporia, Kan.
SPRING BREAK
After a challenging travel situation the Emporia State men and women have arrived in Florida for a series of Spring Break matches in the Sunshine State. The Hornets flight on Sunday was canceled due to weather conditions along the East Coast forcing them to postpone or cancel duals set up for Monday. The Emporia State men will play Lubbock Christian and Lehigh while the women are scheduled to play Angelo State and Lafayette while in Florida. There is a chance they will pick up additional matches to make up for the ones lost on Monday.
LAST SERVE
The Emporia State men will go into their Spring Break trip to Florida with a win as they defeated William Jewell 6-1 on Friday in Liberty, Mo.
The Hornets got wins from
Anton Sarunic and
Mostafa Elbasnaly at #1 doubles and
Diego Calvo and
Lleyton Fosha at #3 to secure the first point.
In singles play the Hornets got straight set wins from
Diego Calvo 6-3, 6-1 at #3,
Harrison Brown 6-1, 6-0 at #4 and
Hachem Fahem 6-1, 6-4 at #5 while #58
Anton Sarunic won 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) at #1 and
Lleyton Fosha came from behind for a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7) win at #6 singles.
The Emporia State women took two points and three match wins from #22 Southern Arkansas on March 2.
Perla Conde and
Sheriden Wichman were able to salvage a 6-3 win at #3 doubles while SAU took the #1 and #2 positions to earn the point.
Anastasia Pesic got the first point of the dual for Emporia State at #5 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win while
Paige Stranghoner picked up a 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) win at the #6 position.
THE COACHES
John Blackburn is 5-3 in his first season as the head men's coach and Director of Tennis at Emporia State. He spent the past eight seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C. He went 117-58 overall with a 54-4 record in conference play, winning three regular season conference championships, two conference tournament championships and made two NCAA Tournament appearances under his leadership. He was also a head coach at Eastern Illinois, Coker College and Palm Beach Atlantic.
Former Hornet CeCe Peyroche is 1-4 in her first full season as the permanent coach of the Emporia State women's program. She took over as the interim coach for both teams in December of 2022. She went 6-9 with the men's team and 5-13 in women's action last year. Peyroche was 23-15 in singles play during her three years as a Hornet before moving into the graduate assistant position last year.
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
The Hornets are 5-3 on the season and 1-0 in the MIAA/GAC North Division. They have won four of their last six duals including an MIAA/GAC North Division opening win at Augustana.
Anton Sarunic is ranked #58 in the nation in singles this spring. He has a 9-7 overall record with a 4-4 mark in spring dual action.
Mostafa Elbasnaly opened the season with six straight wins, four of them at #3 singles before moving up to #2 for the last four matches. He is 6-2 on the season, all in dual action.
Hachem Fahem picked up a win against Augustana on February 26 in his first action of the year and is 2-2 overall.
Sergio Vera Martin is 7-7 overall with a 2-3 record mostly at #2 singles this spring.
Harrison Brown is 9-6 overall with a 3-2 mark this spring at #5 and #4 singles.
The Emporia State women are 1-4 on the season, with the win coming against Western New Mexico on March 1 before falling to Southern Arkansas on March 2 in their last outings.
Giovanna Ferreira is 7-7 on the season and 3-2 in the spring. She won three straight at #3 singles before moving up to #2 and falling in three sets in her last outing against Southern Arkansas.
Anastasia Pesic is7-5 overall with a 4-1 mark in spring play. She has played primarily at #5 singles and has won her last two matches at that position.
Angelina Gnezdilova is 5-7 overall with a 1-4 record in spring dual action. Her win came at #2 singles against Western New Mexico.
Paige Stranghoner is 4-8 this year with a 2-2 mark in the spring. She has won her last two matches at #6 singles.
KNOW THE FOE
The Lubbock Christian men are 9-1 on the season and ranked #19 in the nation in Division II.
The Division I Lehigh men are 5-6 on the season and compete in the Patriot League.
The Angelo State women are 9-1 on the year and ranked #12 I the nation in Division II.
The Division I Lafayette women are 5-4 on the year and compete in the Patriot League.
UP NEXT
The Hornets return to the Kossover Family Tennis Complex on March 22 as they play host to McPherson. First serve for both teams is set for 1:00 p.m.
