Leavenworth, Kan.—USM men's tennis turned in a strong all-around performance Monday afternoon, defeating Bethany (Kan.) 5-2 at David Brewer Park behind four singles victories and a pair of clutch doubles wins.

Saint Mary established control in singles play, winning four of the six flights to build a slight cushion before doubles. Nils Dueppe opened the day with a straight-sets victory over Francisco Bravo, 6-3, 6-2, staking the Spires to early momentum at the top of the lineup. Evan Maritz followed with another key result, grinding out a 7-5, 6-1 win against Martin Priban to keep Saint Mary in front in the middle of the order.

The Swedes claimed two hard-fought points in singles, briefly slowing the Spires' surge. Sebastian Stipanov rallied past Carlos Grimaldi in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to put the Swedes on the board. At another spot in the ladder, Gustavo Cardoso added a second point for Bethany, edging Nudem Koyuncu 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) after taking control in a second-set tiebreak. Despite those setbacks, the Spires answered with depth as Korbin Priestley added a singles win and Mateo Dargel Argote powered past Dylan Gwilt, 6-1, 6-3, to round out the four singles victories that set the tone for the match.

Carrying a 4-2 advantage into doubles, USM finished the job with composed play in key moments. At No. 1 doubles, Dueppe and Koyuncu regrouped from their singles split to secure a 7-5 win over Bravo and Priban, giving the Spires a crucial doubles point with aggressive returns and timely serving. Bethany responded at No. 2, where Cardoso and Stipanov defeated Grimaldi and Priestley 6-2 to give the visitors their lone doubles win of the day.

The match ultimately was clinched on the No. 3 doubles court. Mateo Dargel and Maritz delivered under pressure, closing out a tight 7-5 decision over Gwilt and Diego Bsereni. Their victory sealed the 5-2 team result and capped a standout afternoon for Maritz, who finished 2-0 between singles and doubles. Dueppe also completed a perfect day with wins at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.

The Spires will look to build on the 5-2 result as they continue their spring slate, they will keep rolling this Thursday, March 12^th with a face-off against KCAC foe, the Ottawa University Braves at Forest Park in Ottawa, Kansas with matches set to begin at 11:00 a.m.