FGCU MTEN @ Lipscomb Recap

The FGCU men's tennis team (10-8, 5-0 A-SUN) picked up its fifth-straight win in conference play with a 5-2 victory over Lipscomb (7-11, 2-3 A-SUN) Saturday afternoon at the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center.

"It's always tough to play Lipscomb at their place," head coach CJ Weber said. "They fought really hard today and didn't give up even though we were ahead the whole match. The team overcame some great challenges and I'm really proud of how we are competing. We need to keep focusing on the right things."

The Eagles built off their dominance in doubles play and captured the point for the fifth-straight match. The duo of juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas and Felipe Ramirez (8-3) started things off with a 6-2 win at the third flight. This was their fifth straight doubles win.

Junior Marcelo Tebet and sophomore Juan Montes (6-1) sealed the point with a 6-1 triumph on the second court, giving FGCU an early 1-0 edge.

Sakalauskas (10-7) brought the Green and Blue up to a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win at the fifth court in singles play. Senior Javier Fernandez (10-4) extended his winning streak to seven matches with a straight-set victory at the sixth flight, and classmate Felipe Escobar (6-8) dug out a 6-0 victory in the third set on court No. 3 that put the Green and Blue up 3-0.

Tebet (10-5) clinched the match with a 7-5 win in set three on the fourth court. The Bison got on the board by claiming the last two points available at courts one and two. Montes (8-8) battled back after dropping the first set but could not finish against Lipscomb's Victor Chaw. Ramirez (7-8) fell in a third-set super tiebreaker to Pablo Caffarena.

The last time the Eagles began conference play 5-0 was the 2015-16 season. That year, the Green and Blue finished the regular season undefeated.

Results
Singles competition
1. Victor Chaw (LIP-M) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. Pablo Caffarena (LIP-M) def. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
3. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) def. Jorge Ortegon (LIP-M) 1-6, 6-4, 6-0
4. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Pedro Uribe (LIP-M) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
5. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) def. Jake Penny (LIP-M) 6-1, 6-0
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. David Skrabut (LIP-M) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 4, 1, 2

Doubles competition
1. Victor Chaw/Pablo Caffarena (LIP-M) vs. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) 3-2, unfinished
2. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) def. Francesco Tacconi/Jake Penny (LIP-M) 6-1
3. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Pedro Uribe/Michael Tougher (LIP-M) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2

Up Next:
After their three-match road swing, the Eagles will return to the FGCU Tennis Complex to take on the Liberty Flames (11-9, 5-0 A-SUN) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 11. The Flames are the only other team undefeated in A-SUN Conference play and are currently on a five-match winning streak. This will mark the second meeting between the two teams; the programs faced off in Miami back in 2015 and the Green and Blue earned a 6-1 victory. The next two matches against Liberty and Kennesaw State (April 13) will determine whether or not the Eagles can bring home a regular season championship, which they are currently in line for.