FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a dual match that was interrupted by rain twice which resulted in a nearly five-and-half hour marathon, the FGCU men's tennis team stayed focus and powered through Southern Mississippi with a score of 4-0, Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
With the win, the Eagles move to 9-5 while the Golden Eagles drop to 12-5.
 
"What a grind today was!" said head coach CJ Weber. "Sometimes this is tennis, and you have to battle the weather and your opponent. The guys did a great job of staying consistently focused despite all the starts and stops of the match. We are ready for our conference season to begin. We can't wait to travel to Georgia and South Carolina next weekend!"
 
Initially scheduled for a 5 p.m. start time, unexpected heavy rain fell over the FGCU Tennis Complex right before the match started, resulting in a two-hour delay. After the first rain delay, the Eagles stayed on point in the doubles contest as senior co-captain Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) and sophomore Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) put away Chao-Yu Huang and Wen-Po Tseng in the No. 1 slot with a score of 6-3. Senior co-captain Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) and freshman Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) clinched the doubles point for the Eagles as they edged Daniel Merker and Mikhail Esipov in the No. 3 slot with a 6-4 score.
 
About 15 minutes into the singles contest, the match was once again sent into rain delay, this time the rain was light and resulted in a 20 minute delay. Even after the second delay the drizzling rain continued to pour over the courts, but it was not enough to stop play. FGCU did not let anything distract them as the Eagles won three singles points from the No. 1, 4 and 5 slots, all in straight sets.
 
FGCU's winningest singles player, Vives, gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead after a 6-4, 6-1 win over Tarun Surat in his usual No. 1 slot. Surat troubled Vives in the first set with his unusual style of play, but Vives figured it out in time to take the first set with authority before turning the second set into a one-man show.
 
Junior Eduardo Alfonzo (Valencia, Venezuela/Barry University) gave the Eagles a commanding 3-0 lead after a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over Mikhail Esipov in the No. 5 slot. Alfonzo, who started the spring season by winning six matches in a row before dropping seven close matches, was nothing but clutch in the big moments to claim his seventh win of the spring season.
 
"I'm really happy with the way I played tonight," Eduardo Alfonzo said. "Especially because I was able to step up my game in the important moments of the match. I also want to thank all of the fans that came out to support, it's always a pleasure to play here at FGCU. Wings up."
 
Bao clinched the victory for the Eagles after a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Alex Doleac in the No. 4 slot. The counterpunching Doleac enjoyed Bao's aggressive play to jump out to a 3-1 lead, but Bao adjusted the game plan and won the next five out of six games to win the first set 6-4. In the second set, both players made some big shots in the crucial moments to drag the set to 5-5. With Doleac serving at 5-6, a couple of unforced errors were the dagger for Doleac as Bao claimed his ninth victory in the spring.
 
After Bao clinched, FGCU won the contest 4-0 and the three remaining matches were suspended, as both coaches agreed during the rain delays.
 
FGCU wraps up non-conference play with a record of 9-5 and will open up the Atlantic Sun Conference play as the Eagles travel to the Peach State and the Palmetto State to take on Kennesaw State on Mar. 19 at 1 p.m., and USC Upstate on Mar. 21 at 2 p.m.
 
FINAL RESULT
 
FGCU: 4 Southern Mississippi: 0
 
DOUBLES
1. Jordi Vives/Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) vs. Chao-Yu Huang/Wen-Po Tseng (USM). 6-3.
2. Ricky Ventura/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) def. Brad Marriott /Alex Doleac (USM). 5-4, DNF
3. Tianyu Bao/Austin Bates (FGCU) def. Daniel Merker/Mikhail Esipov (USM). 6-4.
 
SINGLES
1. Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. Tarun Surat (USM). 6-4, 6-1
2. Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) vs. Wen-Po Tseng (USM). 6-7(4), 4-3. DNF
3. Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Chao-Yu Huang (USM). 7-5, 4-5. DNF
4. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) def. Alex Doleac (USM). 6-4, 7-5
5. Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Mikhail Esipov (USM). 7-5, 6-4
6. Lucas Vaz (FGCU) def. Rakshit Rishi (USM). 6-3, 4-6, 1-1 DNF
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1.3) Singles (1.5.4)
 
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
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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