FGCU MTEN vs Bethune-Cookman Recap

The FGCU men's tennis team (3-3, 1-0 A-SUN) defended home court claiming a 6-1 win over Bethune-Cookman (1-2).

"Today was overall a good day for us," head coach CJ Weber said. "We're playing much better in singles now so we need to keep focusing on developing that. I felt like Bethune-Cookman tested us well in doubles and at a few spots in singles, they definitely made us close out the matches. Now we have to shift our focus to a really tough Charlotte team on Sunday. I hope we can get another good crowd out there for that one."

In doubles play, the Eagles came away with the first point of the afternoon as they claimed the top two courts. Junior Marcelo Tebet and sophomore Juan Montes (2-1) teamed up to register a 6-4 decision, while the pairing of juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas and Felipe Ramirez (1-2) clinched it for the Eagles in a tough 7-5 battle. Court No. 3, which was suppose to be against the team of senior Javier Fernandez and freshman Pedro Maciel (1-0), was forfeited by BCU. Maciel was making his debut after graduating from Goliath Academy in West Palm Beach.

Going into singles FGCU gained another win as BCU forfeited the match on court No. 6, which was suppose to be against sophomore Nicolas Tibaudin (1-0).

The first match to finish in singles competition came on the premier court as Montes (3-3) made it 3-0 FGCU with a 6-1, 6-3 decision. The triumph gives Montes his first win of the season on court No. 1 (1-2). Shortly after, Sakalauskas (4-1) bumped FGCU's lead to 4-0, also taking down his counterpart in straight sets (6-4, 6-3), in the process clinching the match for the Eagles. On court No. 4, Tebet (2-3) claimed FGCU's third straight-set victory, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win for the 5-0 advantage. 

After producing a 6-2 first set win, Ramirez (2-3) suffered a 7-6 setback in the second set but responded back with a 10-7 third set tiebreaker to make it 6-0 FGCU. Maciel (0-1) battled tough on court No. 5 but would fall in a tiebreaker in the third set, 11-9.

Up Next:
It's a quick turnaround for the Eagles as they remain home to face Charlotte (3-7) at noon Sunday.