WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's tennis team earned their first win of the spring in decisive fashion, sweeping all nine matches against NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University in a 7-0 win over the Sailfish in West Palm Beach. The win, which saw the Gyrenes drop just two sets of the 17 played, was Ave Maria's first in program history against PBA, following defeats during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. 

The dominance for the Gyrenes began in doubles play, as AMU made quick work of the Sailfish to take the doubles point. Ave Maria's number three team of Greyson Williams and Guilherme Bento was the first team to win thanks to a 6-2 victory, and the top team of Gustavo Cruz and Luca Cirenza sealed the doubles point with a 6-2 win of their own. With the doubles point secured, Fernando Orihuela and Tom Alias finished off the sweep with a 7-5 win at the second flight.

Ave Maria then swept four of the six singles matches, taking the win in the match without much drama. Williams and Cruz were the first two Gyrenes to finish, claiming wins at the sixth and first flights, respectively. The clinching point was provided by Bento,  a 6-2, 6-3 winner at the number four position. The last sweep was courtesy of Carlos Thireau, who earned a 6-2, 6-4 win at the third singles spot to give Ave Maria their fifth point of the afternoon.

The final two matches to finish were the only ones to go to a third set. At the fifth singles position, Alias won the first set, 6-4, before dropping the second by the same margin. In the tiebreaking third set, the Frenchman dominated his PBA opponent by a score of 10-2. In the final match to finish, Orihuela rallied from a defeat in the first set, taking the second frame 7-5 before a 10-7 win in the tiebreaker allowed the Gyrenes to finish off the sweep of their NCAA Division II competition. 

Monday's victory came in Ave Maria's final scheduled match in the month of February. The schedule will resume March 1, when the Gyrenes play in the first of four consecutive neutral site matches. The first of these matches will see the Gyrenes head to Orlando to take on another NCAA Division II opponent, Davenport University. Opening serve of that match is set for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1.