CORAL GABLES, Fla – For the first time in the program history, the FGCU men's tennis team (5-1) defeated a nationally ranked opponent as the Eagles bested No. 71 Miami (1-5) by a dominating score of 4-1, Sunday morning, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
 
"What a win for us today," said head coach CJ Weber. "I'm going to run out of compliments for this team pretty soon if they keep this up. They fought so hard today and did a great job of staying on top once Miami started putting pressure on us at the end."
 
FGCU came into the match prepared to capture the biggest accomplishment in the program history. However, Miami was not going to get rolled over as they took an early lead in the doubles contest as the Hurricane's Tsukamoto and Lomacki claimed a 6-4 win in the No. 1 slot over Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) and Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)). The pair broke Lomacki's first service game and were up 2-0, but Miami quickly turned the match around and eventually came away with the win.
 
In the No. 2 slot, Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) were unable to keep up with Gonzalez and Bondar early in the match as the Eagles were down 5-0, Bates and Andres retaliated as they trimmed the deficit to 5-3, but Miami was able to shut the door in Gonzalez's service game to give Miami a 1-0 lead.
 
After losing the doubles point for the first time since its season opener against then-No. 35 Florida State, FGCU made sure to let nothing distract them as the Eagles started out the singles white-hot, winning all the first sets. Junior Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) leveled the match to 1-1 after a no-nonsense 6-1, 6-0 decision over Bernard Tefel in the No. 4 slot. Less than 24 hours removed from a marathon match against Liberty, Ventura wasn't planning on playing another long match as the Barcelona, Spain native stepped on the gas pedal early and never let it go to claim his fifth win of the spring season.
 
Shortly after Ventura's victory, Bao gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead after a quick 6-3, 6-3 score over Genovese in the No. 5 slot. Bao played disciplined tennis throughout the whole contest, leaving no chance of a comeback for his opponent. After today's win, Bao has won a combination of 92 matches (39 doubles, 53 singles) as the Tianjin, China native gets closer to becoming the second member of the Mr. 100 Club at FGCU.
 
"Today was a testament of our hard work that we've put in everyday since the day I got here," Bao said. "Four years ago when I came here, we were a team that nobody respects, and now we are one of the best teams in the country! Nothing is more valuable than hard work, discipline and resilience, and that is what we have been doing the whole time."
 
In the No. 1 slot, Vives defeated ITA No. 56 Lomacki in a tightly contested match. Vives, who recently became the first FGCU player to collect 100 wins, was up 5-0 in the first set but Lomacki came back to level the match at 5-5. In this crucial moment, Vives raised his level just a bit more than his opponent to claim the first set 7-5. In the second set, both players played outstanding tennis as the set was leveled at 4-4, knowing a win would give the Eagles a commanding 3-1 lead, Vives rose to the occasion as he stayed aggressive on Lomacki's service game to jump out to a 5-4 lead. He then comfortably held the service game to get his 101th win of his FGCU career. After today's win, Vives is officially the winningest singles player in FGCU D1 history with 63 victories as the transfer from University of Southern California surpassed former great and current assistant coach Dean Tsamas (62).
 
"Shoot, that was a heck of a weekend for us!" Vives said. "It feels awesome to beat UM as a team and for me to break Dean's record. Thanks for everyone's support!"
 
With a 3-1 lead, it was Andres Alfonzo who clinched the victory for the fourth match in a row after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tsukamoto in No. 2 slot. Alfonzo dictated the first set with a 6-3 score. Tsukamoto retaliated in a controversial-filled second set as he kept the match close to Andres from his consistent tennis, but Andres was committed to staying disciplined as the transfer from TCU broke Tsukamoto's service game at 3-3. He then went on and held his serve twice to give FGCU its first win over a nationally ranked opponent.
 
"Today's matches was one of those matches that we need to stay on the whole time both mentally, tactually and physically, and I think I did a pretty good job of that." Andres said.  I am happy that we got another win, and I feel proud of my teammates and coaches."
 
"There was no standout in today's match," Weber added. "This was just a good classic team win! Everybody did their part, and everybody who is a part of this program deserves to enjoy this victory!"

The Green and Blue will return to action when they drive up to the World Center of Racing as the Eagles take on Troy University on Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. and Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.
 
FINAL SCORE
FGCU: 4 No. 71 Miami: 1
 
DOUBLES:
1. Henrique Tsukamoto/Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. Jordi Vives/Tianyu Bao (FGCU) 6-4
2. Wilfredo Gonzalez/Kevin Bondar (UM) def. Andres Alfonzo/Austin Bates (FGCU) 6-3
3. Nile Clark/Andrew Harrington (UM) vs. Ricky Ventura/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) 5-5, DNF
 
SINGLES:
1. Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. #56 Piotr Lomacki (UM) 6-4, 7-5
2. Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) 6-3, 6-4
3. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) vs. Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) 4-6, 6-2, DNF
4. Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Bernard Tefel (UM) 6-1, 6-0
5. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) def. Niclas Genovese (UM) 6-3, 6-3
6. Nile Clark (UM) vs. Michael Beiler (FGCU) 5-7, 6-0, 5-2, DNF
 
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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