Video of Championship Celebration

MOBILE, Ala. - The FPU men's tennis team capped off a dominant season on Saturday with a 5-1 win over #2 Embry-Riddle in the NAIA Championship Match to give the program its second national title.

Cledson Carvalho notched the team's final point, clinching his match at #3 singles to give the Sunbirds their second title in three years.

The match characterized what's been a remarkable season for the Sunbirds, who spent the entire season at #1 in the polls and went undefeated against NAIA teams. As has happened time and time again, FPU jumped out to an early lead in doubles, showed its depth in singles play and saw its top performers bring it home.

"The match was very intense," Nathan Martinet, who won each of his matches, would say afterward. "We played really well in doubles and that set the tone for the rest of the match. Once we went up 2-1it gave us great confidence going into singles, which is the strongest part of our team."

Amarit Sanchez and Nathan Martinet got it started, continuing what's been an incredible year for the #3 doubles tandem by defeating ERAU's Peter Francis and Simon Felix 8-3 to give the Sunbirds the early lead.

The other two doubles matches were far more highly-contested. At #1, Xavier Smith and Kirill Sinitsyn knocked off the Eagles' top doubles pair of Chris Freeman and Jan Hoekzema 8-6, though not without some excitement. The Sunbird duo jumped out to a 6-2 advantage before the Eagles answered with three-straight games to bring it to 6-5.

Smith and Sinitsyn regained their form to take two of the next three games and give FPU the 2-0 lead. ERAU would get a point back though as Patrick Besch and Adrian Bayh came back from a 6-3 deficit to win a long match with Carvalho and Jaime Sanchez-Canamares at #2 doubles, 9-8 (2).

Sanchez-Canamares would come right back though and give the team its first singles win, taking down David Spennare 6-1, 6-2 on court six and putting the Sunbirds two wins away. Martinet would make it 4-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Francis on court four, before Carvalho brought it home by winning 6-4, 6-2 over Besch.

Three matches ended unresolved, with Sinitsyn well on his way to victory at court two and Smith and Sanchez playing close matches at numbers one and five.

"We played really well," said Sinitsyn. "It was a tough team we played but I felt like the guys and I just had a little more belief and we were able to come out on top."

Neil Castro was named NAIA Coach of the Year for the second time on the men's side. It was FPU's 11th team national title in school history and the third during the 2010-11 school year (volleyball, men's swimming).

More to come.....

Singles:
No. 1 - Xavier Smith (FPU) vs. Chris Freeman (ERAU), 6-4, 5-6 (unfinished)
No. 2 - Kirill Sinitsyn (FPU) vs. Jan Hoekzema (ERAU), 6-4, 4-2 (unfinished)
No. 3 - Cledson Carvalho (FPU) def. Patrick Besch (ERAU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Nathan Martinet (FPU) def. Peter Francis (ERAU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Amarit Sanchez (FPU) vs. Simon Felix (ERAU), 5-7, 4-4 (unfinished)
No. 6 - Jaime Canamares (FPU) def. David Spennare, 6-1, 6-2

Doubles:
No. 1 - Xavier Smith/Kirill Sinitsyn (FPU) def. Chris Freeman/Jan Hoekzema (ERAU), 8-6
No. 2 - Patrick Besch/Adrian Bayh (ERAU) def. Cledson Carvalho/Jaime Canamares (FPU), 9-8 (2)
No. 3 - Amarit Sanchez/Nathan Martinet (FPU) def. Peter Francis/Simon Felix (ERAU), 8-3