Bucs shutout Mercer, 7-0, on senior day

Sunday's match was the final home match for ETSU's seniors (L to R): Rogerio Ribeiro, Ismael Merino, Ricardo Pabon and Sebastian Yllera

Sunday, April 10, 2016

ETSU remains undefeated in conference play with the win

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 10, 2016) – After shutting out Chattanooga 4-0 on Saturday, the 52^nd-ranked ETSU men’s tennis team notched its second consecutive shutout Sunday as it blanked Mercer 7-0. With the win over the Bears, the Bucs have now won 11 straight matches and move their record to 14-5 this season. The match against the Bears also served as senior day for ETSU’s four seniors: Rogerio Ribeiro (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Ismael Merino (Lima, Peru), Sebastian Yllera (Cinco Saltos, Argentina) and Ricardo Pabon (Bogota, Columbia).

“For the rest of the team to pull together and get a win in the seniors’ last home match was great,” ETSU Head Coach Yaser Zaatini said. “As to what they meant to ETSU, there are no words to describe it. College athletics is a cycle. They have taken care of business for us during their careers so to see them pull out a win in their home finale was special and emotional.”

ETSU began the match by winning the doubles point. It is the seventh straight match that the Bucs have begun a match by winning that point. In singles action, ETSU continued to play well winning five of the six contests in straight sets. Diego Nunez (Monterrey, Mexico) clinched the match for the Bucs with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Nicolas Guillon. The win by Nunez was his seventh of the season to move his record to 7-8.

The Buccaneers will close out their regular season April 16 when they travel to take on the The Citadel at noon. If the Bucs defeat the Bulldogs it will mark the third straight season that they have finished the conference season undefeated.

“We look at it as one match at a time,” said Zaatini. “Just like we did today. Our goal is the play every match with everything we got and hopefully that will carry us on.”

Singles competition

1. #85 David Biosca (ETSU) def. Sam Philp (MER) 6-2, 6-2

2. Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) def. Arnav Mohanty (MER) 6-3, 6-0

3. Diego Nunez (ETSU) def. Nicolas Guillon (MER) 6-2, 6-4

4. Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Anderson Scarpa (MER) 6-1, 6-4

5. Ismael Merino (ETSU) def. Arsav Mohanty (MER) 3-6, 6-0, 1-0

6. Ricardo Pabon (ETSU) def. Fernando Guardia (MER) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #47 David Biosca/Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) vs. Ruben Vanoppen/Arsav Mohanty (MER) 4-3, unfinished

2. Diego Nunez/Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Arnav Mohanty/Sam Philp (MER) 6-3

3. Ismael Merino/Sebastian Yllera (ETSU) def. Zacharie El Ayat/Fernando Guardia (MER) 6-2

FOLLOW THE BUCS

Receive live game updates and behind-the-scenes access of ETSU Men’s Tennis by following @ETSUMensTennison Twitter.
ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click hereto sign up today!