AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's tennis team came up big when it mattered most on Saturday, winning four three-set matches in a 7-0 victory over the visiting Warner University Royals. Ave Maria's second conference win of the season was more dramatic than the final score indicates, as each of the top four singles matches were decided in the third set. Prior to the match, the most prolific senior class in AMU tennis history was honored.

Ave Maria won the doubles point with ease, although Warner was able to take a match off the Gyrenes. AMU's wins came at the bottom two spots, with Fernando Orihuela and Gaston Erhardt teaming up for a 6-3 win at the second flight and Carlos Thireau and Greyson Williams earning a 6-4 win at the third flight. Warner did emerge victorious with a 7-6 win at the top flight, but the two wins at the lower flights allowed the Gyrenes to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.

The Gyrenes had to battle for their final three needed points, with each of the top four matches going to a third set. Two of these matches - Orihuela's at the first flight and Erhardt's at the second - saw the Gyrene player take the early lead, fall in the second set, then rally to take the match in the third. Orihuela was a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 winner in his match, while Erhardt battled to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win. 

In the other two matches, the Gyrene player had to come from behind. Thireau lost his first set at the third flight, 6-1, but rallied for wins of 6-3 and 6-4 to take the match. Bruno Duarte lost a tiebreaker in his first set at the fourth flight, then came back for a 6-3, 10-7 win in the final two sets.

Compared to the drama at the top of the lineup, the fifth and sixth flights were a breeze for Ave Maria. Tom Alias earned AMU's most decisive win of the day with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the fifth flight. At the sixth flight,  Williams finished off a 2-0 day with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Warner's Mauricio Olschansky.

The Gyrenes will play their final home match of the 2023 season on Monday, when the Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic University come to the AMU Tennis Complex. The dual will be a rematch of a meeting in West Palm Beach on February 13. Opening serve from Ave Maria is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. It will be the team's final contest before the Easter holiday, with the final two matches of The Sun Conference season coming the following week.