FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team is set to get the 2015 spring season underway at the FGCU Tennis Complex when No. 68 Syracuse comes to town on Thursday at 1 p.m. The match will serve as the precursor to the FGCU Spring Invite next weekend Jan. 17-19 but in the meantime the Eagles will have to deal with the well-rounded Orange team.
SYRACUSESyracuse enters the 2015 campaign ranked No. 68 in the nation. The doubles tandem of
Valeria Salazar and
Komal Safdar rank 59th. Dating back to last season, the Orange has been ranked in 11-straight polls after cracking the top-75 on March 4, 2014, peaking at No. 59. Salazar has been ranked in seven-straight doubles polls with three different partners. Last season, she and former Orange
Maddie Kobelt were ranked in the final-six polls (peaking at No. 38). She also was ranked with
Rhiann Newborn in the Sept. 6 preseason poll this season with
Rhiann Newborn.
LAST TIME OUTThe 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
Breana Stampfli (Port of Span, Trinidad and Tobago) and
Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) saw 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 finishes at 5-4.At the FIU Panther Invitational
Sarah Means (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wiregrass Ranch HS) 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.
UP NEXTThe Eagles return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 17 for the FGCU Spring Invite. The three-day event will be the first multi-day tournament for the Green and Blue this spring.
For complete coverage of FGCU women's tennis follow us on Twitter at @FGCU_WTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available. 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. 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.
