Friday, March 13
Johnson City, Tenn.
11 a.m.
Mercer University
at
#68 East Tennessee State
Mercer To Tussle With No. 68 East Tennessee State On Friday
3/12/2026 1:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MACON – The Mercer men's tennis team will continue its five-match stretch away from home on Friday when the Bears travel to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on 68th-ranked East Tennessee State in a battle of defending Southern Conference regular season champions. First serves are scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex.
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Friday's matchup will mark the SoCon opener for the Bears (4-7, 0-0 SoCon) who picked up their first road win of the season by toughing out a 4-3 triumph at North Florida on Sunday. Hod'Abalo Isak Padio Isak rallied back from a 4-3 deficit in the deciding third set at No. 1 singles to give visiting Mercer the match-clinching point. The decision also snapped a two-match skid for MU who had dropped 4-3 contests to both Florida Gulf Coast and St. John's earlier in the week.
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Padio continues to be the torch bearer for Mercer heading into the weekend, boasting 15 singles victories in 2025-26, including six amid the traditional spring campaign so far. However, sophomore Shingo Masuda has been stout on the courts as of late, rattling off five wins in his last six singles outings, including straight-sets wins against St. John's and North Florida last week.
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Mercer has been formidable in doubles competition over the last three weeks. Both the No. 1 (Padio/Nemanja Stefanovic) and No. 2 (Masuda/Amen Prince Gandonou) have captured six-straight doubles matchups, including four-straight gritty 6-4 triumphs by Masuda/Gandonou.
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The Bears will line up against a red-hot East Tennessee State (11-3, 1-0) club on Friday. The Buccaneers have captured 11-straight dual matchups since opening the season with three-straight losses – two at Tennessee and another at top-ranked Wake Forest. Since those early-season setbacks, ETSU has registered four shutout victories, and have yielded two or less team points on three other occasions.
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East Tennessee State has raked in the doubles point eight times amid its current 11-match winning skein, boasting a 9-5 record on Court No. 3 and an 8-3 clip on Court No. 1. Junior Oscar Martinez is 10-1 on the No. 1 singles court in 2026, while Kai Cowcher has recorded nine singles wins, including a 5-4 mark on Court No. 4.
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The Bears are 2-20 all-time in the 20-year-old series with ETSU, but handed the Buccaneers just their third league loss in the last 11 seasons with a 4-3 win in Macon last season.
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Friday's matchup will mark the SoCon opener for the Bears (4-7, 0-0 SoCon) who picked up their first road win of the season by toughing out a 4-3 triumph at North Florida on Sunday. Hod'Abalo Isak Padio Isak rallied back from a 4-3 deficit in the deciding third set at No. 1 singles to give visiting Mercer the match-clinching point. The decision also snapped a two-match skid for MU who had dropped 4-3 contests to both Florida Gulf Coast and St. John's earlier in the week.
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Padio continues to be the torch bearer for Mercer heading into the weekend, boasting 15 singles victories in 2025-26, including six amid the traditional spring campaign so far. However, sophomore Shingo Masuda has been stout on the courts as of late, rattling off five wins in his last six singles outings, including straight-sets wins against St. John's and North Florida last week.
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Mercer has been formidable in doubles competition over the last three weeks. Both the No. 1 (Padio/Nemanja Stefanovic) and No. 2 (Masuda/Amen Prince Gandonou) have captured six-straight doubles matchups, including four-straight gritty 6-4 triumphs by Masuda/Gandonou.
Â
The Bears will line up against a red-hot East Tennessee State (11-3, 1-0) club on Friday. The Buccaneers have captured 11-straight dual matchups since opening the season with three-straight losses – two at Tennessee and another at top-ranked Wake Forest. Since those early-season setbacks, ETSU has registered four shutout victories, and have yielded two or less team points on three other occasions.
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East Tennessee State has raked in the doubles point eight times amid its current 11-match winning skein, boasting a 9-5 record on Court No. 3 and an 8-3 clip on Court No. 1. Junior Oscar Martinez is 10-1 on the No. 1 singles court in 2026, while Kai Cowcher has recorded nine singles wins, including a 5-4 mark on Court No. 4.
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The Bears are 2-20 all-time in the 20-year-old series with ETSU, but handed the Buccaneers just their third league loss in the last 11 seasons with a 4-3 win in Macon last season.
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