BETHANY, W.Va. - The benefits of the team's spring break trip to Florida showed as the Franciscan men's tennis team went on the road and beat Bethany College (W.V.) 7-2.

"It was just a testament to kind of gauge where we are, going for the AMCC again this year," assistant coach Shannon Irvin said. "Florida served its purpose. It just really showed us just how prepared we are and it was a promising win."

The Barons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after doubles play with the freshmen duo of John Gallagher and Jarek Sulak remaining undefeated at no. 2 doubles, winning 8-1 against the Bison.

The Quiza brothers, Zachary and Joseph, won 8-3 at no. 1 doubles and, continuing their success from the previous match, new partners Mitchell Plys and Connor Jooste won at no. 3 doubles 8-3.

In singles play, the Barons experimented with a different lineup, seeing new faces on the court in different positions. Gallagher played at the no. 3 spot to fill in for his doubles partner Sulak, who had earned a day off with his play against Mount Union in the last match.

"We decided to, in preparation for the Altoona match, to give Jarek a break in singles after he had played so hard the other day," Irvin said.

Gallagher dominated his match, winning 6-0, 6-1. Plys also moved up one spot, from no. 5 to no. 4 and won comfortably 6-2, 6-3.

Freshman Dominic Clements found his way into the new lineup, seeing his first action on the court of his career, and played a tough no. 6 singles match despite losing 2-6, 3-6.

"Dominic did very well for his first collegiate match," Irvin said. "It was a great experience for him."

Rounding out the rest of the scoring for Franciscan was Zach Quiza winning 6-1, 6-3 at no. 1 singles and his brother Joe sweeping no. 2 with a final score of 6-0, 6-0.

With three upcoming matches in four days, Irvin said that the Florida trip will continue to be a benefit for the team as they feel prepared mentally and physically for the challenge the next few days will bring.

"I don't think the guys would need that much more recovery because they did work so hard down in Florida," Irvin said. "We played 4-5 hours of tennis each day there and that makes us very equipped to play these back to back matches."

The Barons will face an improved Penn St.-Altoona team in Pittsburgh on March 20 at 8:30 p.m. as they transition back into conference play.