FORT MYERS, Fla – Playing on a beautiful Super Bowl Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex, the FGCU men's tennis team capitalized on every opportunity it received from both the singles and doubles courts to defeat Georgia Southern, 6-1, for its third win in a row.
 
With the win, FGCU improves to 3-1 while Georgia Southern drops to 2-3.
 
"Today was probably the most complete day we have had so far as a program," head coach CJ Weber said. "The guys started strong and ended strong on nearly every court. Andres (Alfonzo) and Austin (Bates) stepped up big and won a huge match at No. 1, and that was shortly after Jordi (Vives) and (Michael) Beiler (who played together for the first time, even in practice) won in 6-0 fashion!"
 
For the first time in his collegiate career, senior co-captain Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) was on the bench Sunday, and an adjustment was made on the doubles lineup as freshman Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) played out of the No. 1 slot while senior co-captain Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) teamed up with fellow classmate and co-captain Beiler (Palm Harbor, Fla./Dunedin HS) in the No. 2 slot.
 
FGCU adjusted exceptionally as Vives and Beiler claimed a quick 6-0 score at No. 2 to get the Eagles started. Shortly after Vives and Beiler's triumph, the junior duo of Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) and Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) clinched the doubles point for the second time this weekend for the Eagles, beating Kerrigan and Codina Sala, 6-4, in the No. 3 slot, giving the Green and Blue a 1-0 lead. Win No. 3 for the Eagles came from Bates and Alfonzo with a 6-4 victory, defeating Hoffman and Landin in a close contest.
 
FGCU came out to the singles court blazing as the Eagles claimed the first set in five out of six matches, and stayed hot until the last point of the match. The first win for the Eagles came from junior Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) in the No. 3 slot, as he beat Hoffman, 6-1, 6-4. Once again Eduardo stayed on top of the entire match and won in just more than an hour. The win moves Eduardo to 6-1 in singles matches this spring.
 
Eduardo's younger brother, Andres, gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with a dominating 6-2, 6-3 score over Kerrigan in the No. 2 slot. Shortly after Andres' win, Vives clinched the third triumpg of the year for the Eagles with a 6-3, 6-2 score over Lanne at the No. 1 slot. Having recently defeated Georgia Tech's  No. 1, Lanne wasn't able to keep up with Vives' finesse and aggressive style as the Spaniard claimed his fourth win of the spring season.
 
Beiler also had a spectacular day on the singles court. Playing in the No. 5 slot against Landin, Beiler claimed the first set, 6-2. However, Landin raised his level in the second set as he went toe-to-toe with Beiler, but at the end it was Beiler who came through when it mattered the most to claim the second set, 6-4.
 
"Today was Mikey's day," Weber said of Beiler. "He played an incredible doubles match and an even better singles match. I'm so proud of him. The way he has developed as a player and a young man is remarkable. I get compliments about his effort everywhere I go, and I'm happy he is getting the results."
 
Rounding out the day for the Green and Blue was junior Ventura in No. 4 singles. Against his fellow Spaniard Codina Sala, Ventura was challenged in both sets, but his mental toughness prevailed as he gutted out a 6-4, 6-3 victory, and the sixth point of the day for FGCU.
 
Vives has now won 61 singles matches in his fourth semester of competition for the Eagles. The current Division-I era record (since 2007-08) is held by current assistant coach Dean Tsamas with 62, and the all-time record is held by former FGCU great Richard Stempnowski with 67 from FGCU's D-II era.
 
The Eagles will return to the courts when they flock to South Beach on Friday, Feb. 6, to take on Big South Conference foe Liberty at a time still to be announced, and No. 52 Miami on Feb. 7. at 10 a.m.
 
Final Results:
FGCU: 6 Georgia Southern: 1
 
Doubles
1. A. Alfonzo/Bates (FGCU) def. Hoffman/Landin (GSU) 6-4
2. Beiler/Vives (FGCU) def. Lanne/De Groof (GSU) 6-0
3. Vaz/Ventura (FGCU) def. Codina Sala/Kerrigan (GSU) 6-4
 
Singles
1. Vives (FGCU) def. Lanne (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. A. Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Kerrigan (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. E. Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Hoffman (GSU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Ventura (FGCU) def. Codina Sala (GSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Beiler (FGCU) def. Landin (GSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. CasaBlancas (GSU) def. Vaz (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
 
Order of finish: doubles (2,3,1) singles (3,2,1,5,6,4)
 
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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