FORT MYERS, Fla. – Playing under the lights, the FGCU men's tennis team once again delivered as it rolled past Lipscomb, 6-1, on Thursday, Mar. 26 at the FGCU Tennis Complex, for its sixth win in a row.
 
With the win, the Eagles improve to 12-5 (3-0 Atlantic Sun) while the Bisons drop to 9-9 (0-2 Atlantic Sun).
 
"Today was a great day for our team," said head coach CJ Weber. "I felt Lipscomb fought hard, and we responded well. We came up with the good when we needed to, and I am very pleased with how we are competing start to finish. We have to keep this up for the remainder of the season!  That is our challenge."
 
With sophomore Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) sitting out of the lineup for the second match in a row, the Eagles continued to stick to their principles in the doubles contest. Senior co-captain Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) and junior Eduardo Alfonzo (Valencia, Venezuela/Barry University) claimed a no-nonsense 8-2 win over John Tougher and Thais Minet in the No. 2 slot. Claiming the doubles point was the junior duo of Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) and Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa), beating Rob Mitchell and Philippe Courteau in the No. 1 slot with an 8-6 score.
 
After claiming the doubles point, FGCU continued to stay true to its fundamental principles in the singles contest as the Eagles collected five singles points, starting with Vives in the No. 1 slot, winning a quick match against Rob Mitchell with a 6-0, 6-0 score.
 
After the Bisons trimmed the Eagles' lead to 2-1, FGCU quickly made the score to 3-1 after a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win from Eduardo Alfonzo in the No. 4 slot over Alex Pavel. Alfonzo faced resistance from Pavel all night long, but stayed on top of the match by winning some crucial points to claim the routine win.
 
Redshirt junior co-captain Michael Beiler (Palm Harbor, Fla./Dunedin HS) slammed the door for the Eagles with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over John Tougher in the No. 5 slot. Identical to his match against USC Upstate last Saturday, Beiler started the match slow, but eventually figured out a game plan to rout Tougher in the last two sets with ease.
 
"I am realizing I don't need to play my best tennis every time out there in order to win," said Beiler. "That is something I did not have a couple years ago. Coach has stressed the importance of how we compete the whole year and I see that spilling over to every court. It is awesome!"
 
After Beiler's clincher, freshman Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) gave the Eagles a 5-1 lead after a 7-6, 6-2 win over Thais Minet in the No. 6 slot. Bates and Minet were trading blows, but Bates edged Minet in the tiebreaker to win the first set before cruising through the second set.
 
Senior co-captain Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) claimed the last point for the Eagles after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Philippe Courteau in the No. 3 slot. Bao started to heat up late in the first set after a slow start in the beginning of the match, but it was little too late as Courteau claimed the set. Bao adjusted the game plan, and then leveled the match after a quick 6-1 second set. In the third set, both players broke each other's serve to start the set, but Bao stayed focused to outlast Courteau in the third set.
 
Tying the DI program record, FGCU won its 12th match of the year against Lipscomb. The Eagles will look for its record-breaking 13th win this Saturday, Mar. 28 against Northern Kentucky at 5 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
FINAL RESULT
 
FGCU: 6 Lipscomb: 1
 
DOUBLES
1. Ricky Ventura/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) def. Rob Mitchell/Philippe Courteau (LU). 8-6
2. Jordi Vives/Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Thais Minet/John Tougher (LU). 8-2
3. Tianyu Bao/Austin Bates (FGCU) vs. Alex Pavel/Alejandro Manzanares (LU). 7-2, DNF
 
SINGLES
1. Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. Rob Mitchell (LU). 6-0, 6-0
2. Alejandro Manzanares (LU) def. Ricky Ventura (FGCU). 6-2, 6-4
3. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) def. Philippe Courteau (LU). 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Alex Pavel (LU). 6-3, 6-3
5. Michael Beiler (FGCU) def. John Tougher (LU). 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Austin Bates (FGCU) def. Thais Minet (LU). 7-6, 6-3
 
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.