FORT MYERS, Fla. – Fueled by clutch performances from junior duo of Lucas Vaz and Ricky Ventura in the No. 3 doubles slot and five singles wins from No. 1 to No. 5, the FGCU men's tennis team (2-1) defeated Florida Atlantic University (1-4) for the third year in a row in its home opener, 6-1, Friday.
 
"Today was an intense match," said head coach CJ Weber. "Ricky and Lucas did amazing things for this team by clinching the doubles point in the way that they did. No. 3 doubles was a very high level from start to finish on both sides, and they finished that match playing tennis the way they want to. Singles could not have been tighter. Four out of the five matches went three sets, and all our players showed great resiliency and determination in the pressure moments. This was a great win for us as FAU has a very good team this year."
 
Playing under the lights and in front of their home fans for the first time this season, FGCU came out to the doubles court with authority as freshman Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and sophomore Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) made a quick work in the No. 2 slot against Robert Dubuque and Kian Mclean.
 
However, FAU was not going to let the doubles point slip away as Andrei and Will Neuner quickly evened the doubles contest with a 6-4 decision in the No. 1 slot against the co-captain duo of Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) and Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC). With the doubles point on the line, it was Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) and Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) who came out victorious in the No. 3 slot, beating Richard Meade and Zandrix Acob 7-6 (8) in a nail-biting contest.
 
Both sides were evenly matched throughout the contest and the match had to be decided by a tiebreaker. Vaz and Ventura made sure to play disciplined tennis throughout the tiebreaker to eventually claim the match and a 1-0 lead for the Eagles.
 
The Owls' No. 4 singles player, Zandrix Acob, was ejected from the match due to a code violation, which resulted in a 2-0 advantage for FGCU. The Eagles capitalized on the opportunity as junior Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) blew by Richard Meade in the No. 3 slot 6-2, 6-2, and took a commanding 3-0 lead for the Eagles. Eduardo fully displayed his aggressive yet consistent style of tennis as the junior transfer from Barry University left no chance for Meade en route to his fourth win of the spring season.
 
Eduardo's younger brother, Andres, was engaged in a gruesome battle against Will Neuner in the No. 2 slot. Alfonzo claimed the first set with a quick 6-2 score before Neuner level the match with the same score in the second. In the third set, both players were performing at a high level, but Andres' discipline and resolve on the court helped him to gut out a 6-4 score in the third set.
 
Point No. 5 came from senior Vives in the No. 1 slot. Playing against Morin-Kougoucheff, Vives wasn't able to capitalize on the break opportunities as he dropped a close 7-5 first set. However, after the first set, Vives finally found his groove as he wasted no time in claiming the second and third sets with scores of 6-2, 6-3.
 
Claiming the last point of the night for the Eagles was Bao in the No. 5 slot. Bao dominated the first set against Robert Dubuque to win 6-1 and had four match points in the second, but Dubuque played specular tennis as he saved all four match points and earned a tight 7-6 (8) second set. In the third set, Bao regained composure and stayed on top of the match as the senior claimed a quick 6-2 score to win the match.

FGCU will be back on the baseline this Sunday at Noon when it welcomes the Eagles of Georgia Southern.
 
CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by CJ Weber, who has coached 10 A-Sun All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his third season, Weber guided Jordi Vives to a No. 35 national ranking, a nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streak and the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament – the program's first appearance. His teams have continually posted winning records and finished the 2014 season a Division-I best third in the conference with 12 wins.
 
#WINGSUP
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RESULTS:

FGCU:6 FAU 1
 
DOUBLES:
Andrei Morin-Kougoucheff/Will Neuner (FAU) def. Jodri Vives/Tianyu Bao (FGCU) 6-4
Austin Bates/Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Robert Dubuque/Kian Mclean (FAU) 6-0
Lucas Vaz/Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Richard Meade/Zandrix Acob (FAU) 7-6 (6)

SINGLES:
 
Jodri Vives (FGCU) def. Andrei Morin-Kougoucheff (FAU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Will Neuner (FAU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Richard Meade (FAU) 6-2, 6-2
Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Zandrix Acob (FAU) Default
Tianyu Bao (FGCU) def. Robert Dubuque (FAU) 6-1, 6-7 (8), 6-2
Kian Mclean (FAU) def. Michael Beiler (FGCU) 7-6 (4), 4-6, (11-9)
 
Order of finish: doubles (2,1,3) singles (4,3,2,1,5,6)