Lisa Kirr and Matina Ujdur smile after winning a point in Sunday' win.
The Lee men's tennis team opened Gulf South Conference play with a 7-0 shutout over visiting Christian Brothers University on Sunday from the DeVos Tennis Center.
"There's no easy wins in the GSC and we had to work hard for that one," said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. "It was great for Nico & Drew to get their first wins. Jesus (Garcia) showed great toughness to pull his singles out."
Lee opened the match with the doubles point thanks to wins by the No. 20th nationally ranked tandem of Bruno Medeiros and Antonio Pons with a 6-3 win at the No.
1 spot over Paul Chabaud and Atilio Flores of CBU. Jesus Garcia and Christian Pons followed with a 6-3 win of their own over Andres Calzacorta and Carlson Bennage.
No. 3 team of Nico Ramirez and Drew Johnston got the Flames off on the right foot as they won 6-2 over Alonso Reid and Victor Fantaziu to start the match.
In singles, Cristian Pons finished first with a 6-4, 6-3 straight set victory over Flores at No. 3 singles. Ramirez followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Reid while Garcia sealed the team win with the fourth point at No. 1 singles topping Chabaud in a tightly contested two set battle, 7-6, 7-6.
Lee would make it a clean sweep with wins at No. 5 singles (Mederios over Bennage, 6-2, 6-7, 10-4), No. 4 singles (Antonio Pons over Calzacorta, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8) and No. 6 singles (Johnston over Fantaziu, 6-1, 6-2).
The win moves the Flames to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the GSC while the Bucs fall to 9-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Lee wraps up a three-match home stand on Wednesday as they host Tusculum at 2 p.m. at the DeVos Tennis Center.
LADY FLAMES 7, CBU 0
The Lee women's tennis team remained perfect on the young season with a 7-0 shutout of Christian Brothers to begin Gulf South Conference play on Sunday from the DeVos Tennis Center.
"Our ladies set a great tone early with doubles today. Every court got off to a quick start which really helped us," said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. "This team plays with a lot of energy and encouragement for each other and it's fun to watch."
Sierra Donaldson and Lauren Trammell got the party started with a 6-0 blanking of Gabriela Marin and Beredice Porfel at No. 3 doubles. The top team of Lisa Kirr and Matina Ujdur sealed the point with a convincing 6-2 victory and Micaela Belen Maiz and Carley Sickinger followed suite at No. 2 doubles with a 6-2 win.
Kirr finished her singles match first with a 6-2, 6-0 dominating win over Marin. Belen Maiz followed shortly behind with a 6-0, 6-1 win and the match was officially settled at No. 1with Sickinger rolling to a 6-0, 6-4 straight set triumph.
Ujdur outlasted Brazuelo 6-4, 6-2 to give the Lady Flames a 5-0 advantage before Trammell glided to a 6-6, 6-3 win over Wooten. Freshman Dana Moreno stepped into to seal a perfect afternoon for the Lady Flames and did not drop a set in winning 6-0, 6-0 over Porfel.
The Lady Flames improve to 3-0 and are 1-0 in the GSC while the Lady Bucs fall to 8-4 and an even 2-2 in the GSC.
Lee will host Tusculum on Wednesday to wrap up a three-match home stand before hitting the road for three matches against West Florida on Sunday, Lincoln Memorial (Feb. 27) and West Alabama (Feb. 29).
Nico Ramirez delivers a backhand during Sunday's win.