ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis team earned its first Northeast Conference victory of the spring with a 6-1 win over St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday morning at the U.S. Naval Academy.
 
Playing at a neutral site, the Knights (3-6, 1-0 NEC) started out by sweeping all three doubles matches and then won each of the first five singles bouts to earn enough points for the overall match victory. Five players earned victories in both singles and doubles.
 
The Knights won all three doubles matches by 6-2 margins. Freshman Mehdi Dhouib and sophomore Andris Gudins got things started with a win at first doubles, and sophomores Maciej Autuch and Moric Budinszky followed with a win at third doubles to provide FDU the overall doubles point. Junior Ivan Solans Diaz and sophomore Eduardo Cabral teamed up at the no. 2 spot also were victorious in their match against the Terrier opposition.
 
Dhouib continued his impressive play with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at no. 1 singles of an All-NEC second teamer from last season in Alehandro Ridruejo. Gudins was also dominant in his singles match against Guillermo Artiz at no. 2, dropping only a single game in a 6-1, 6-0 straight set win.
 
Budinszky and Cabral also completed their singles wins in straight sets. Budinszky at the fourth spot battled through a close first set and then turned up his level of play in the second set in a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Cabral also won his first set 6-4 and then cruised to a 6-2 win in the second to sweep the match.
 
At no. 5 singles, Solans Diaz survived a tough first set with a 7-6 (6) win on a tiebreak, and the junior then powered past his St. Francis opponent with a 6-0 second set sweep to earn the match win.
 
Autuch suffered the lone loss of the day for the Knights at no. 3 singles, but he did not go down without a fight. He dropped his first set by a close 4-6 margin before battling back to take the second set 7-6 (4) on a tiebreak. Playing in a superset for the tiebreaker, his Terrier adversary got the upper hand and finished off the match with a 10-6 win.
 
The Knights next travel to Orlando, Florida, where they will play three matches next week during their spring break trip starting with Youngstown State on Wednesday.
 
BOX SCORE
DOUBLES
Mehdi Dhouib/Andris Gudins (FDU) def. Alehandro Ridruejo/Guillermo Aritz (SFBK), 6-2
Ivan Solans Diaz/Eduardo Cabral (FDU) def. Daniel Blasco/Grant Louis (SFBK), 6-2
Maciej Autuch/Moric Budinszky (FDU) def. Facundo Couso/Tomas Dirube (SFBK), 6-2
 
SINGLES
Dhouib (FDU) def. Ridruejo (SFBK), 6-0, 6-0
Gudins (FDU) def. Artiz (SFBK), 6-1, 6-0
Couso (SFBK) def. Autuch (FDU), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-6
Budinszky (FDU) def. Stefan Gmijovic (SFBK), 6-4, 6-1
Solans Diaz (FDU) def. Blasco (SFBK), 7-6 (6), 6-0
Cabral (FDU) def. Pabloe Blasco-Torres (SFBK), 6-4, 6-2