The FGCU men’s tennis team concluded its first tournament of the spring season on Sunday and the final outing saw the Eagles pick up a trio of singles wins opposite No. 45 TCU. The highlight of the day had to the return of preseason ITA No. 35 Jordi Vives to the singles court as he rolled to an impressive victory in his spring singles debut after fighting off a first set tiebreak.”We got everything out of this weekend that we needed,” head coach CJ Weber said. “We were insanely challenged, and in many of those instances, we rose to the occasion. Sometimes, we didn’t, and we need to learn from those moments to eliminate them and improve. I couldn’t be more proud of how this team conducts themselves. This is a very special group.”
Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./TCU) battled Nick Chappell for three sets but after winning the first set 6-4, would go down 4-6, 4-6. In the No. 9 spot, Chris Perrigan (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay HS) played perhaps his best match of the young spring season to pick up a singles victory over Blake Wiggins in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get so see Chris play today because I was on the opposite side of the facility,” Weber added. “I HEARD him, which was probably a first ever! It was awesome to feel his energy from 100 meters away!”
Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) continued to have an outstanding weekend on the singles court as he would complete a perfect tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Trey Daniel. The Hollywood, Fla. native controlled the match from the beginning and rolled the victory.
“Eduardo would have beaten Nadal today!” Weber continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody play so well. He went undefeated on the weekend in singles … and just wow!”
Jordi Vives (Barcelona, Spain/IES Ferran Tallada/USC) provided the highlight of the day in his spring singles debut. Vives had his fall cut short after a wrist injury in the wake of a record-breaking junior campaign. The senior Co-Captain squared off with TCU No. 1 Arnau Dachs and battled into a first set tiebreaker. The Barcelona native found a groove and came away with a 7-6 (6) victory in that first set then found his old form in the second set and cruised to a 6-3 victory to take the match in straight sets for his first singles victory of the spring.
“Of course Jordi’s first match back after injury, he puts on another show,” Weber added. “His opponent came out firing, playing amazing tennis, but Jordi just hung on, battled through the beginning, and was able to turn it around to earn a straight set win.”
The Eagles would complete the invite with a set of doubles matches against Ole Miss but would not come away with a victory in any matches despite several strong efforts.
Day 5 Singles Results vs. TCU
1. Vives def. Dachs, 7-6 (6), 6-3
2. Chappell def. A. Alfonzo, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6
3. Johnson def. Ventura, 6-4, 6-0
4. E. Alfonzo def. Daniel, 6-2, 6-2
5. Stein def. Bao, 7-6 (3), 6-2
6. Lugones def. Beiler, 6-2, 6-2
7. Blake def. Bates, 6-3, 6-2
8. Nunez def. Vaz, 6-1, 6-1
9. Perrigan def. Wiggins, 6-4, 6-3
Day 5 Doubles Results vs. Ole Miss
Babic/Rogers def. E. Alfonzo/A. Alfonzo, 6-4
Hansson/Kallberg def. Vaz/Bates, 6-2
Lindmark/Jorge def. Beiler/Perrigan, 6-2
Wilder/Gowda def. Ventura/Chaffin, 6-4