Men's Tennis | 2/24/2026 3:46:00 PM
Emporia State Hornet Men (2-1)
at Ark.-Fort Smith Lions (1-1)
Wednesday, February 25 | 11:00 a.m.
The Hangout | Fort Smith, Ark.
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Men at Southeastern Oklahoma
Tuesday, March 3 | 1:00 p.m.
SE Tennis Complex | Durant, Okla.
NON-CONFERENCE MIAA CONTEST
The Emporia State men travel to Fort Smith, Ark. to take on Arkansas-Fort Smith. This is the first trip to Fort Smith for the Hornets. The Lions play in the South Division of the MIAA-GAC Alliance so this match will not count towards conference standings.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornet men were able to cruise to a 4-1 victory over Southwest Baptist as the match was played to clinch due to cold temperatures in Springfield, Mo.
The teams split the first two doubles matches with SBU winning at #2 before
Luke West and
Duvan Santiago Torres picked up a 6-4 win at #3.
Anton Sarunic and
Diego Calvo delivered the doubles point to the Hornets with a 7-6 (7-3) win at #1 doubles.
Calvo gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win at #3 singles and
Mostafa Elbasnaly made it 2-0 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win at the #2 position. The Bearcats picked up a thiree sit win at #1 before Santiago Torres closed out the win at #5 with a 6-0, 6-1 win.
THE COACH
John Blackburn is 24-17 in his third season as the head men's coach and Director of Tennis at Emporia State. He spent the previous 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. He was also a head coach at Eastern Illinois, Coker College and Palm Beach Atlantic.
QUICK LOOK AT THE HORNETS
The Hornet men are 3-1 in the spring season. They have nine returners led by senior
Anton Sarunic, who ended last season ranked #24 in the nation in NCAA Division II singles, and the doubles team of graduate student
Gwendal Mazuay and sophomore
Alexis Mattenberger who ended last season ranked #45 in the nation in D2 doubles play.
Mostafa Elbasnaly and
Diego Calvo are both undeated in the spring against four year competition.
KNOW THE FOE
Arkansas-Fort Smith is 1-1 on the season with a loss to Harding and a win over Evangel.
LAST TIME VS THE LIONS
Emporia State raced to a 4-0 win over Ark.-Fort Smith to complete an undefeated 2025 season at the Kossover Family Tennis Center. The Hornets quickly secured the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 wins.
Hachem Fahem and
Roko Kacer won at #1 while
Diego Calvo and
Mostafa Elbasnaly took the win at #2 doubles. The Lions salvaged the final doubles match with a 6-4 win at #3 over
Harris Kossover and
Gwendal Mazuay. Mazuay put the Hornets up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win at #6 singles followed quickly by a 6-1, 6-3 win at #5 by Fahem. Kacer clinched the dual win with a 6-4, 6-2 win at #4 to end the day.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornet men are 3-0 against the Lions all-time.
UP NEXT
The Hornet men play at Southeastern Oklahoma on March 3.
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