AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's tennis team finally got to play on their home court on Monday, playing for the first time in Ave Maria in a 6-1 victory over the Conquistadors of Florida National University at the AMU Tennis Complex in Ave Maria. The Gyrenes controlled much of the action against FNU, winning the doubles point, then five matches in straight sets to cruise to the team's fourth win in its last five matches.

The Gyrenes needed to battle for the doubles point, as a match that went to the tiebreaker decided the day's opening point. The first Gyrenes to win were the third flight duo of Greyson Williams and Carlos Thireau, who emerged with a 6-2 win. After FNU was victorious in the second flight, the top flight match was the decider. The match went to the tiebreaker, where Ave Maria's nationally ranked duo of Luca Cirenza and Gustavo Cruz swept their opponents, 7-0, to clinch the doubles point for AMU.

Singles action was not nearly as dramatic, as all five of Ave Maria's wins came in straight sets. In those ten victorious sets, the FNU player only scored more than three points once. The blowout started at the top of the lineup, where Cruz was a 6-1, 6-3 winner. Fernando Orihuela was similarly dominant at the second flight, picking up a 6-1, 6-2 win. The closest match of the day was at the third flight, where Gaston Erhardt was a 7-5, 6-1 winner.

Fresh off his selection as NAIA National Player of the Week last week, Bruno Duarte continued to play well with a 6-2, 6-1 over his opponent at the fourth flight. Tom Alias got the nod at the fifth flight, and produced Ave Maria's most dominant performance with a 6-2, 6-0 win. Florida National's lone win came at the sixth flight, where Jan Oppermann was a 6-4, 6-4 winner.

Action in the nation's best tennis conference is set to begin Friday, as AMU plays two nationally recognized opponents in Sun Conference action this weekend. The Gyrenes start conference play in the Peach State, first facing No. 19 Coastal Georgia in Brunswick on Friday. The action then shifts to Savannah on Saturday, when AMU faces another nationally ranked foe in the form of No. 24 SCAD-Savannah. The match against Coastal Georgia is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m, with the SCAD match slated for 1:00 p.m.