FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team kicked off the 2015 Spring Invite with a trio of quality wins on the singles court coupled with a few doubles pairs advancing in their respective draws before going down in the second round. The Eagles were led by Sarah Means who rolled to a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory in her A-Draw debut opposite Lisa Schneider of Southern Mississippi.

"Today was a great day of competition," head coach Courtney Vernon said. "The ladies were able to get in a lot of matches today. Sarah is still alive in the main draw and Johanna and Alex are still alive in B and C which is great for tomorrow. It gives them another opportunity to play a lot of matches and continue to work on our goals."

The Eagles got the day started on the doubles court and it was the Means sisters in the A-Draw stealing the show with a dominating 6-0 victory in their first match opposite an FAU duo. In the bottom half of the bracket the team of Johanna Sterkel (Schwetzingen, Germany/Carl-Theodor-Schule HS) and Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) picking up a 7-5 win to advance to the second round. Sterkel and Stampfli would struggle in their second round match, falling 7-5 to a duo from Northwestern State. The Means sisters held a 4-1 lead in their second round match opposite a duo from Miami (Ohio) but would settle for a tiebreak before, ultimately, falling 7-6 (2).

Sarah Means dominated her first round singles match putting her in a second round tilt with Natalya Krutova of NSU tomorrow morning. In the B-Draw singles bracket, Sterkel stayed hot and picked up an easy 6-1, first set, win over Taylor Briggs from FAU. Briggs showed some fight in the second set but Sterkel was able to hold her serve throughout the set to pick up the 6-1, 6-4 victory and move on to the second round where she will square off with Polina Ivanova of NSU. Finally, in the C-Draw, it was junior Alex Landert picking up a gutsy victory over Sofia Krsmanovic of Arkansas State to move on to face Ramona Costea of Miami.

Play will continue tomorrow morning at the FGCU Tennis Complex at 9 a.m. beginning with doubles then two rounds of singles to conclude the day. The Eagles will have three individuals alive for singles titles while all doubles teams will compete for consolation titles.

LAST TIME OUT
The duo of Elizabeth and Sarah Means (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wiregrass Ranch HS) battled the nationally ranked Syracuse duo of Amanda Rogers and Rhiann Newborn to a 6-6 draw forcing the match into a tiebreak situation. The Eagle pair would prevail in the end, battling out a 9-7 result to take the match 7-6. The team of Alex Landert (Naples, Fla./Seton Hall) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) rolled past Nicole Mitchell and Olivia Messineo, 6-0, to clinch the doubles point for the Green and Blue.

In singles action, Amanda Rogers bested Sarah Means 6-1 in the first set but Means battled in the second, forcing a tiebreak but would fall ultimately, 7-5. In the No. 2 spot, Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/Saint Joseph's Convent) battled hard but went down 6-2, 6-4. Johanna Sterkel (Schwetzingen, Germany/Carl-Theodor-Schule HS) forced a tiebreak in her first set with Newborn but went down 7-3 in the volley, dropping the set 7-6 and would go down 6-4 in the second.

Curtis would pick up the second point of the afternoon for the Green and Blue with a 7-5 victory over Breanna Bachini in the first set before Bachini defaulted in the second. Elizabeth Means evened the score with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 win over Komal Safdar in the No. 4 slot.

Syracuse would earn the victory with its fourth and clinching point when Nicole Mitchell bested Landert 7-5, 6-2.  

FALL 2014
The Eagles competed at the Dick Vitale Invite to conclude the fall slate. The final day began with doubles play in the round of 32, where the pair of Stampfli and Curtissaw a hard-fought battle against Tennessee's Tiffany Tavares and Laurenceluc Guevremont. After staying on serve for a majority of the contest, a break on the Eagles near the end of the match gave the Volunteers the lead and ultimately the win at 8-6.

This was the first fall campaign for both Curtis and Stampfli, who joined the Green and Blue in January, 2014. After four tournaments, Curtis leads the team with a singles record of 6-5, Stampfli finished at 5-4.

At the FIU Panther Invitational Sarah Means bested Eastern Michigan's Klara Supejova. After Means won the opening frame, 6-3, Supejova went on to take the second set with the same score. The third set remained close, but a push from Means in the end gave her a win at the 6-4 mark to take the match and the A singles backdraw.

After a first-round loss in B singles, freshman Curtis followed in Means' footsteps and was crowned champion of the backdraw. To earn the title Curtis topped Eastern Michigan's Andrea Martinovska in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.

COURTNEY VERNON
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.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of FGCU women's tennis at the FGCU Spring Invite, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of each day.
 
#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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.