BARTOW, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's tennis team picked up their first victory of the 2020 season on Saturday afternoon, winning six total matches en route to a 5-2 victory over the Royals of Warner University at the Bartow Civic Center. The win also got the Gyrenes their first conference win of the season, placing Ave Maria at 1-1 overall in league play. 

A pair of convincing doubles victories allowed Ave Maria to claim the doubles point on the road. The team of Carlos Thireau and Alejandro Viedma picked up a 6-3 victory at the number two spot over Warner's team of Julian Cuartas and Vitor Wagner. Felipe Amorim and Adriel Bousquet also triumphed, winning 6-2 at the number three spot over Henrique Dias and Bruno Carvalho. Warner's top doubles team of Bruno Pessoa and Filipe Gil won 6-1 at the number one spot, but AMU moved into singles play with a 1-0 lead.

Four of the six singles matches went the way of the Gyrenes, allowing AMU to seal a 5-2 team victory. All four of Ave Maria's singles victories came in straight sets, led by a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory by Thireau in the number two slot. Lucas Leivo won 7-6, 6-4 at number three, and Henrique Pruner's victory of 6-4, 6-4 at the number six position proved to be the clinching point for the Gyrenes.

Amorim also earned a singles victory for Ave, winning in a tiebreaker in the first set before sealing the win with a 6-4 triumph in the second set at the fifth spot. Warner's singles victories came at number one and number four, with Pessoa winning 6-2, 6-3 at the top spot. A battle ensued at the number four position, as Warner's Julian Cuartas won the day's longest match, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

Ave Maria will face a major test on Wednesday, as the Gyrenes head across Alligator Alley for a meeting with the seventh-ranked Seahawks of Keiser University. Keiser has won four consecutive Sun Conference championships. Opening serve in West Palm Beach is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.