TALLAHASEE, FLA.- Day one of the Florida State Invitational saw the Pioneers claim two victories at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee. Denver (2-0) defeated Furman University in the opening round of the tournament, 4-1. The Pioneers would then go on to take down No. 72 North Florida , 4-0. Denver will move on to the championship match against host No. 35 Florida State Sunday at 11 a.m. MST.

Denver 4, Furman 1

The 2015 season kicked off with a decisive victory over Furman University. Denver took the doubles point to begin the match. The No. 33 ranked duo of junior Henry Craig and sophomore Alex Gasson defeated Jacob Behal and Adam Steryous, 6-4. On the number two court sophomores Yannik James and Diogo Rocha claimed the doubles point by beating Ben Horst and Matt Browne, 6-4.

"We had two very good wins today," said Head Coach Danny Westerman. "Our fitness was fantastic and you can see that we put in some hard hours over the winter break."

In singles the Pioneers proved to be a force early as junior David Fox claimed the second point for the Pioneers, sweeping Behal, 6-0, 6-1. Rocha would follow suit by dropping Luke Synn, 6-1, 6-4. The match was clinched when Gasson out-fought Browne on court two, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Denver 4, No. 72 North Florida 0

The Pioneers would keep the momentum rolling as the doubles pairs on courts one and two would pick up the first point for Denver. James and Rocha would defeat Caio Gomez and Yannick Zuern, 6-2. Craig and Gasson would claim the point by overtaking No. 28 Jack Findel-Hawkins and Norbert Nemcsek, 6-3.

Denver would sweep all three singles matches to earn the match victory. Fox would kick off the singles scoring for the Pioneers again as he earned a, 6-3, 6-3, win. James would get in on the singles victories and earn the third point for Denver with a, 6-4, 6-4, triumph over Lasse Muscheites. Rocha would cap the day on court three by beating Zuern, 6-3, 6-4.

"We are excited to play a great program in FSU tomorrow in the finals," said Westerman. "I like our chances if we put in another complete effort like we did today."

Day 1: Florida State Invitational

Denver 4, Furman 1

Doubles

1. #33 CRAIG, Henry/GASSON, Alex (DEN) def. Jacob Behal/Adam Steryous (FUR) 6-4

2. JAMES, Yannik/ROCHA, Diogo (DEN) def. Ben Horst/Matt Browne (FUR) 6-4

3. Juan Sheppard/Stefan Rhodes (FUR) vs. FRYER, Zach/FOX, David (DEN) 4-5, unfinished

Singles

1. Adam Steryous (FUR) vs. #64 Craig, Henry (DEN) 2-6, 6-1, 3-3, unfinished

2. Gasson, Alex (DEN) def. Matt Browne (FUR) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

3. Rocha, Diogo (DEN) def. Luke Synn (FUR) 6-1, 6-4

4. Fox, David (DEN) def. Jacob Behal (FUR) 6-0, 6-1

5. Ben Horst (FUR) vs. James, Yannik (DEN) 6-3, 0-6, 2-4, unfinished

6. Juan Sheppard (FUR) def. Talcott, Aidan (DEN) 6-2, 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,6,2)

Denver 4, No. 72 North Florida 0

Doubles

1. #33 CRAIG, Henry/GASSON, Alex (DEN) def. #28 Jack Findel-Hawkins/Norbert Nemcsek (UNF-M) 6-3

2. JAMES, Yannik/ROCHA, Diogo (DEN) def. Caio Gomes/Yannick Zuern (UNF-M) 6-2

3. Zach Goldberg/Lasse Muscheites (UNF-M) vs. FOX, David/FRYER, Zach (DEN) 5-3, unfinished

Singles

1. #72 Jack Findel-Hawkins (UNF-M) vs. #64 Craig, Henry (DEN) 6-7 (7-9), unfinished

2. Caio Gomes (UNF-M) vs. Gasson, Alex (DEN) 5-7, 1-4, unfinished

3. Rocha, Diogo (DEN) def. Yannick Zuern (UNF-M) 6-3, 6-4

4. Fox, David (DEN) def. Norbert Nemcsek (UNF-M) 6-3, 6-3

5. James, Yannik (DEN) def. Lasse Muscheites (UNF-M) 6-4, 6-4

6. Julian Bradley (UNF-M) vs. Talcott, Aidan (DEN) 6-4, 3-1, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,5,3)

- JOIN THE DENVER PIONEER NATION -

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports

Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Men's Tennis on Facebook

Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MTennis on Twitter