FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Athletics Department has named men's tennis player Andres Alfonzo and women's soccer player Emma Blackwell as recipients of the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month award for November.

Each month during the school year, the FGCU Athletics Communication Office and Athletic Academic staff will choose a pair of Eagles as the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month. Those selected for the honor will have exhibited a combination of superior athletic and overall academic success.

Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) is a finance major with a 3.81 cumulative GPA and has been named to the Dean's List in each of his first two semesters on the Southwest Florida campus.

Alfonzo recently paired with teammate Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and capped off the fall season by taking home the doubles title at the prestigious Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic, hosted by ESPN talent Dick Vitale. En route to their title, the duo defeated doubles teams from Navy and Furman by margins of 8-5 and 8-6, respectively, to advance to the semifinal round where they took down the No. 2 seed from Miami, Max Andrews and Christian Langmo, 8-7 (8-4). In the final match, the FGCU duo met Michigan's Carter Lin and Kevin Wong and ultimately defeated the duo in Maze and Blue by their widest margin of the weekend, 8-4.

In his first season with the Green and Blue in 2014-15, the junior transfer posted an overall singles record of 18-14 while going 8-8 in dual-meet matches and 10-6 in tour matches. His overall mark ranked as the fourth best on the team. Additionally, the Hollywood, Fla., native also paired with a quartet of teammates throughout the season and turned in an overall doubles record of 14-13 while going 9-4 in dual-meet matches and 5-9 in tour matches. Following a perfect weekend during which he went 4-0 in both singles and doubles play vs. FAU and Georgia Southern, Alfonzo was named the A-Sun Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

Blackwell (Jenks, Okla./Jenks HS) is an elementary education major with a 3.81 cumulative GPA. She is a five-time recipient of the Dean's List and was also named to the President's List last spring. Additionally, at the end of October, the senior defender was not only named to the A-Sun All-Academic Team for the first time in her career, but also earned the A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year award for the second-straight season. With the award, Blackwell became the first player ever to repeat with the league's highest defensive honor and also took home First Team All-Conference accolades for the third-consecutive season.

The centerback started all 22 games and played a team-high 2,041 minutes this season while leading the Green and Blue to its first ever NCAA Tournament win by a 2-1 margin at USF on Saturday, Nov. 14. With Blackwell's leadership and skill, the FGCU back line stopped nearly all opponent advances this season, allowing opponents to just 74 shots on target all year. On the attack, Blackwell added three assists to go along with 18 shots and consistently fed the Eagle midfield to create offensive opportunities. For her performance on the field, Blackwell earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades twice this season. 
 
Through a four-year career, the Jenks, Okla., native tops the FGCU record books with 84 games played, 82 games started and 7,616 minutes played. She also helped lead the Eagles to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships, three A-Sun Conference Tournament Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month Awards
August - Brittany Brown (Women's Soccer) and Miguel Jaime (Men's Soccer)
September - Lauren Tarovisky (Women's Cross Country) and Rodrigo Saravia (Men's Soccer)
October - Tabby Tindell (Women's Soccer) and Troy Clark (Men's Cross Country)

FGCU ATHLETICS
In its 9th year as a Division-I member, FGCU has won a combined 45 conference regular season and tournament titles as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference and Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association. In just its 5th year of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU has made 20 total NCAA Championship appearances, and seven programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports. Ticket information for upcoming events is available at FGCUAthletics.com/tickets or by calling 239-590-7145. Additional news and schedule information is available at FGCUAthletics.com. Follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Facebook (/FGCUAthletics), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and YouTube (/FGCUAthletics).
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.