JACKSONVILLE – Two members of the FGCU women's tennis team remain alive in the Bedford Cup after the completion of day two on Saturday at the UNF Tennis Complex in Jacksonville.
 
Returning to compete in the final day are Alex Landert (Naples, Fla./Seton Hall) and Johanna Sterkel (Schwetzingen, Germany/Carl-Theodor-Schule HS).
 
"Today was a great learning opportunity for the girls," head coach Courtney Vernon said. "They were challenged in a lot of different ways. We will grow and focus on learning a lot from today. We have one more day of competition where we will apply lessons we learned today."
 
Winning the Doubles 2 backdraw were Sterkel and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) beating Bethune-Cookman's Chinatsu Kajiwara and Gabby Chinchilla a dominant 8-3.
 
Earning the Green and Blue's only win in the singles competition was Sterkel, Playing the third draw. In the quarterfinals, Sterkel found a straight-set victory over Rebecca Pereira of UNF, winning the contest 6-4, 6-0.  In the semifinals, Sterkel faced Kennan Johnson of UCF, but couldn't establish a dominant rhythm, falling to the Knight, 6-1, 6-4.
 
Finishing second in the Doubles 3 bracket were partners Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Landert. After winning two matches for a spot in the finals, the pair of Eagles couldn't keep its streak going as they fell to Bethune-Cookman's Alejandra Vidal and Maria Garoz-Moreno 8-3.
 
Returning tomorrow are Sterkel, who will look to claim third place in Singles 3 with a match against Clare Mendell of UCF, and Landert, who will face Dominique Henry of Florida A&M for third place in Singles 4.
 
For complete coverage of FGCU women's tennis at the Bedford Cup follow us on Twitter at @FGCU_WTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of each day.
 
FGCU is led by Courtney Vernon, whose inaugural campaign saw the Eagles finish third in the conference standings with a Division-I best 14 wins overall in 2013-14. She has produced five A-Sun All-Conference selections and the 2014 Freshman of the Year.
 
SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY
 
Doubles 2
Consolation
Curtis/Sterkel (FGCU) def. Kajiwara/Chinchilla (BCU) – 8-3
 
Doubles 3
Round 2
Vidal/Garoz-Moreno (BCU) def. Stampfli/Landert (FGCU) – 8-3
 
Singles 1
Consolation
Spencer Liang (UF) def. Sarah Means (FGCU) – 6-1, 6-1
 
Singles 2
Emily Fanning (FSU) def. Breana Stampfli (FGCU) – 3-1, ret.
 
Singles 3
Quarterfinals
Johanna Sterkel (FGCU) def. Rebecca Pereira (UNF) – 6-4, 6-0
Michelle Valdez (UNF) def. Julianna Curtis (FGCU) – 6-2, 6-2
Clare Mendell (UCF) def. Elizabeth Means (FGCU) – 6-4, 6-0
Semifinals
Kennan Johnson (UCF) def. Johanna Sterkel (FGCU) – 6-1, 6-4
Consolation
Jessica Cortes (USF) def. Candela Munoz (FGCU) – 6-2, 6-1
 
Singles 4
Semifinals
Monica Matias (UCF) def. Alexandra Landert (FGCU) – 6-4, 7-5 
 
SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY
Singles 3
Third Place Match
Johanna Sterkel (FGCU) vs Clare Mendell (UCF)
 
Singles 4
Third Place Match
Alexandra Landert (FGCU) vs Dominique Henry (FAMU)