FULL RESULTS
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team kicked off the spring season with a battle against nationally ranked Syracuse and ultimately fell by a score of 4-3 but not without taking down a nationally ranked doubles team in the process. The Eagles would also pick up two singles wins to complete their effort on Thursday afternoon.
"Today was a tough match against Syracuse, a very solid team," head coach
Courtney Vernon said. "The girls came out in doubles and competed very well. Sarah and Liz beat a ranked opponent and Alex and Julianna player very well in their first time playing together. In singles the girls were very challenged today and struggled to convert in opportunity points. We will grow a lot from today and take this match and learn a lot from it as we go through the spring season."
The duo of
Elizabeth and Sarah Means (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wiregrass Ranch HS) battled the nationally ranked Orange 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
Alex Landert 7-5, 6-2.
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.
