SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a tightly contested match on the road, the FGCU men's tennis team stayed disciplined during the entire match to defeat USC Upstate by a 5-2 score on Saturday, Mar. 21 at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
 
With the win, the Eagles move to 11-5 (2-0 Atlantic Sun) while the Spartans drops to 2-13 (1-1 Atlantic Sun).
 
"Today was a good day for us to adjust with Andres [Alfonzo] out of the lineup," said head coach CJ Weber. "Jordi [Vives] and Eduardo [Alfonzo] played great doubles, and they had never played together before. They definitely got the whole team jump started with their doubles win. Bao played his best tennis of the entire year today! He kept his head down, stayed disciplined and played aggressive when it mattered most, very proud of the way he played in singles and doubles!."
 
Playing on significantly faster courts then the FGCU Tennis Complex, the Eagles adjusted well in the doubles contest, starting with the first-time duo of senior co-captain Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) and junior Eduardo Alfonzo (Valencia, Venezuela/Barry University), beating Viktor Salander and Felix Ewers, 8-3, in the No. 2 slot. Vives and Alfonzo synced well in their first match together to cruise through the entire contest.
 
Clinching the doubles point for the Eagles was senior co-captain Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) and freshman Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS)  in the No. 3 slot against Matt Bennion and Ignacio Garrido with a 8-6 score. Bao and Bates were up and down in the match, but found their groove toward the end to take the match with authority.
 
Both teams had their fair share of momentum throughout the match, but FGCU proved themselves as the more disciplined team as the Eagles won four singles matches in the No. 1, 2 3 and 5 slots.
 
Junior Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) earned the first singles point for the Eagles for the second consecutive match, beating Salander 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 slot. Ventura exploited Salander's weakness early and often to win his fourth singles match in a row.
 
Bao claimed the second singles win of the day after a tough 7-5, 7-5 win over Jamie Yates in the No. 3 slot. Bao was up a break against Yates for the majority of the match, but couldn't extend the lead much further as both sets went down the stretch. Bao stayed disciplined to claim the first set, but wasted a number of match points in the second set. Serving at 5-6, Yates once again saved a couple of match points, but was coded for the use of explicit language in the third match point to hand Bao his fourth consecutive match.
 
Vives clinched the match for the Eagles with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Ramon Simonetti in the No 1 slot. FGCU's winningest singles player claimed a quick 6-3 first set, but Simonetti responded with a 6-3 second set win. In the third set, Vives regrouped and fired from all cylinders to win the match.
 
Shortly after Vives' clincher, redshirt junior Michael Beiler (Palm Harbor, Fla./Dunedin HS) gave the Eagles their fifth point of the day after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 thriller over Bennion in the No. 5 slot. The southpaw Bennion made the match very difficult for Beiler with his off-pace tennis, but Beiler figured out a game plan and executed it perfectly to win his second A-Sun match in a row. 
 
"Mikey also had a good day after a slow start," Weber said of Beiler. "Once he learned how to play against the guy, there was no turning back and he recorded a routine win after the first set loss."
 
FGCU will play in front of its loyal home fans under the lights again this coming weekend, hosting Lipscomb on Thursday, Mar. 26, and Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Mar. 28. Both matches are slated at a fan-friendly 5 p.m. starting time. As always the admission is free of charge.
 
FINAL RESULTS
 
FGCU: 5 USC Upstate: 2
 
DOUBLES
1. Ricky Ventura/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) vs, Jamie Yates/ Ramon Simonetti (USCU) 7-7(4-6) DNF
2. Jordi Vives/Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Viktor Salander/Felix Ewers (USCU) 8-3
3. Tianyu Bao/Ausin Bates (FGCU) def. Ignacio Garrido/Matt Bennion (USCU) 8-6
 
SINGLES
1. Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. Ramon Simonetti (USCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Viktor Salander (USCU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) def. Jamie Yates (USCU) 7-5, 7-5
4. Ignacio Garrido (USCU) def. Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Michael Beiler (FGCU) def. Matt Bennion (USCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Felix Ewers (USCU) def. Lucas Vaz (FGCU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles: (2,3). Singles: (2,4,3,1,5,6)
 
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
For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis follow us on Twitter @FGCU_MTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of each day.