JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After having to sleep on a deficit Sunday evening due to its match being suspended by rain, the top-seeded FGCU men's tennis team fought back on Monday morning to defeat second-seeded and host North Florida, 4-3, to win its first Atlantic Sun Championship.
 
The Eagles started the day down 1-0 after UNF clinched the doubles point on Sunday afternoon. The Green and Blue needed to win four of six singles matches on Monday, and they did just that. With the match tied at 3-3, junior Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) clinched the title for the Eagles in the No. 3 slot with a 6-1, 6-4, victory over Julian Bradley.
 
With the win, FGCU earns its first NCAA Championship team appearance, and will learn its opponent and destination on Tuesday, Apr. 28 at 5:30 p.m. The selection show will be live on NCAA.com. First-round action begins at regional sites on Friday, May 8.
 
With their first-ever A-Sun Championship, the Eagles improve their record to 17-5 and extend their win streak to 11. The No. 73 Ospreys conclude their season with a 17-7 record.
 
FGCU sent a trio of players in Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC), Eduardo Alfonzo (Valencia, Venezuela./Barry University) and Ventura to the All-Tournament Team with Ventura being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Over the course of the weekend, Vives and Alfonzo were undefeated on both the singles and doubles courts against Stetson and UNF as the duo posted a 2-0 record in singles and 1-0 mark in doubles. With the match tied at 3-3 against the Ospreys, Ventura rose to the occasion and clinched the championship point for the Eagles, earning the MVP award.
 
"This is an incredible accomplishment for this group of young men, but it also makes me think of all those that came before these guys," head coach CJ Weber said. "This has not been a one-year process, but a four-year process, when Coach [Dean] Tsamas was a sophomore as a player, not a coach; when Bao and Mikey were freshmen! This is the culmination of that four year journey, and it couldn't taste sweeter. It ended with us TAKING the match, and that has been our theme all year long, especially this week. It finished with Ricky hitting a line, not his opponent missing. I couldn't think of a better way to finish the tournament!"
 
The Eagles were in a tug-of-war doubles contest against the Ospreys as all three courts saw multiple breaks back and fourth. Eventually the No. 2 and 3 slot matches came to a 7-7 tie and were decided by a tiebreaker. UNF, a team famed for its double play, stuck to what they know best to edge the Eagles in both the No. 2 and 3 slots to clinch the doubles point on Sunday.
 
In the No. 2 and 4 singles slots sophomore Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) and senior co-captain Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS (Bradenton, Fla.)) had tough matches against Yannick Zuern and Lasse Muschites. Two volley specialists and slice-shot hitters, Zuern and Muschites threw Alfonzo and Bao off their pace to earn two points for the Ospreys. However, Vives and senior co-captain Michael Beiler (Palm Harbor, Fla./Dunedin HS) managed to score two points for the Eagles.
 
Facing Norberk Nemcsek in the No. 1 slot, A-Sun Player of the Year Vives was nothing but confident as the senior quickly claimed the first set by a 6-2 count. In the second set Nemcsek retaliated, but Vives was cool under pressure, taking the second set 6-4.
 
"I am incredibly proud of this team," Vives said.  "Words can't describe moments like how we felt today! I'd like to thank everybody who believed and supported us this year! We did it and we aren't done yet!"
 
Beiler, an A-Sun First Team All-Conference member, took on Alberto De Meo in the No. 6 slot. Beiler came into the match with a game plan and was tough all day long, needing only one break in each of the two sets he played while he held all of the service games to win a 6-3, 6-3 match.
 
"This is a dream come true!" exclaimed Beiler. "For three years I've watched friends and other teams take titles for FGCU and now I get to be part of that magic. Such a special moment for our team. We went out there and took it and I am so proud to be an Eagle!"
 
With UNF leading 3-2, FGCU needed both the No. 3 and 5 matches to win the match, and they did exactly that, starting with the A-Sun Second Team Doubles All-Conference member Eduardo Alfonzo in the No. 5 slot against Zach Goldberg. Just like Beiler, Alfonzo knew what he had to do against Goldberg and stuck to his principles, taking the first set 6-4. In the second set, Goldberg was rattled, and Alfonzo stepped up and took it to his opponent for a dominating 6-1 second-set score.
 
"I'm proud of each of these guys, for all the hard work we have put in," said Alfonzo. "For all those 6 a.m. workouts, for competing the way they do and for being great teammates. I couldn't be any happier right now! Wings Up!"
 
A-Sun First Team All-Conference member Ventura was the last one on the court against Julian Bradley in the No. 3 slot. Ventura overcame Bradley's hard-hitting style to win the first set with ease, 6-1. In the second set, Bradley took off some pace and started to finesse the ball to keep the match interesting. Ventura, knowing his victory would give FGCU its first NCAA Tournament berth, showed nothing but composure. Serving at 5-4, Ventura was ripping his forehand left to right. With a forehand inside the painted outside singles line, Ventura gave the Eagles their first-ever A-Sun Tournament Title.
 
"We have been waiting for this moment since the first day," said Ventura. "I am very happy to clinch the victory with my match and win the conference. I love these guys and I am very proud to be part of this team."
 
Vives made an individual appearance in the NCAA Championship last year for the men's tennis team and advanced to the second round. This marks the 19th NCAA appearance for FGCU in only its fourth season of eligibility. This victory also marks the ninth championship this year and 45th league title for the Eagles as a Division-I member since 2007-08.
 
"I can't believe how much I have been through these past four years here," added Bao. "I love how much this team shares the same vision of what we can accomplish and followed through the entire season. Beiler and I knew what we could do since day one at FGCU and out hard work is paying off! This team is truly special and I could not have found a better place to play tennis!"
 
 FINAL RESULTS
 
No. 1 FGCU: 4 No. 2 UNF: 3
 
SINGLES
1. Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. Norbert Nemcsek (UNF) 6-2, 6-4
2. Yannick Zuern (UNF) def. Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Ricky Ventura (FGCU) def. Julian Bradley (UNF) 6-1, 6-4
4. Lasse Muscheites (UNF) def. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Zach Goldberg (UNF) 6-4, 6-2
6. Michael Beiler (FGCU) def. Alberto De Meo (UNF) 6-3, 6-3
 
DOUBLES
1. Jordi Vives/Eduardo Alfonzo (FGCU) vs. Lasse Muscheites/Zach Goldberg (UNF) 7-6, DNF
2. Norbert Nemcsek/Julian Bradley (UNF) def. Ricky Ventura/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) 8-7 (7-4)
3. Alberto De Meo/Yannick Zuern (UNF) def. Tianyu Bao/Andres Alfonzo (FGCU) 8-7 (7-3)
 
A-SUN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
 
Tournament MVP: Ricky Ventura, FGCU
 
Nathan Debut, Stetson
Ramon Simonetti, USC Upstate
Lasse Muscheites, North Florida
Eduardo Alfonzo, FGCU
Jordi Vives, FGCU
 
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.