FORT MYERS, Fla. – With tournament play behind them, the FGCU men's tennis team switches its focus to the dual season beginning with a contest Thursday against St. John's. The Eagles are coming off of a program-best 17-win season in 2015 and begin the 2016 campaign at 4 p.m. against the Red Storm at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

Admission is free at the FGCU Tennis Complex, however due to the men's basketball game against NJIT parking will only be available in the auxiliary lot. Anyone parked in the housing or tennis lots are subject to a parking citation.

LAST TIME OUT

The Eagles welcomed some of the nation's best to Southwest Florida for the FGCU Spring Invite as No. 30 LSU, No. 45 Memphis and Kentucky made the trip to Fort Myers. The Eagles received singles wins from Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University), Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool), Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) and Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) to open the second half of the season. Cerrini earned a pair of wins while making his first appearances for the Green and Blue, including a win in his first collegiate match. The freshman defeated LSU's Simon Freund, who entered the weekend No. 16 in the Southern Region, claiming his first victory as an Eagle Friday.

In doubles play, the Alfonzo brothers matched their win total from the 2014-15 season, finishing a perfect 3-0 at the Spring Invitational. The duo began the weekend with a 6-4 win over LSU's Andrew Korinek and Tam Trinh and followed with a 6-3 victory over Nils Ellefsen and Kevin Lai of Kentucky. The weekend concluded with a dominant 6-0 triumph over Memphis' Louis Asser and Kai Lemke.

The Eagles also picked up a doubles win from Chris Perrigan (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay HS) and Sam Chaffin (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) on the opening day of competition.

SCOUTING THE RED STORM

When St. John's arrives in Fort Myers for Thursday's dual, the Red Storm will have one match completed in the 2016 season. The Red Storm are scheduled to meet with Florida Atlantic Wednesday to kick off the dual season. The matches in Boca Raton and Fort Myers are part of a six day road trip in the state of Florida which sees the Red Storm competing in four matches during that span. Following the match against FGCU, St. John's travels to Miami and UCF to complete its opening week of play.

With three freshmen, the Red Storm will rely heavily on Lucas Hejhal as well as Vaidik Munshaw early in the season. As the lone seniors for the 2015-16 season, the duo entered the season as the No. 4 pairing in the Northeast Region, after ending last season at No. 89 nationally. Along with his doubles accomplishments, Hejhal carries the No. 5 ranking in singles play for his region, finishing 2015 with a 13-6 record at the No. 1 position. Meanwhile, Munshaw featured primarily at No. 3 singles, finishing the season 14-5.

Also returning for St. John's is the 2015 Big East Co-Player of the Year Robert Livi. Now a junior, Livi finished his sophomore campaign with a 16-4 record in singles play and a 10-9 mark in doubles while competing primarily at No. 2 and No. 3 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

NEXT UP

The Eagles hit the road for the first time in 2016, travelling to Tallahassee for a pair of matches. Sunday, FGCU meets with No. 70 South Alabama before wrapping up play Monday against No. 31 Florida State.

FOLLOW ALONG
 
For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis follow us on Twitter @FGCU_MTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of each day of competition.
 
CJ WEBER
 
FGCU is led by CJ Weber who has coached 16 A-Sun All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his fifth year, Weber has compiled a 47-37 (.560) overall record and a 20-11 (.645) record in A-Sun play. In 2014-15, Weber guided the Eagles to their first-ever Atlantic Sun Championship and first-ever Atlantic Sun Regular Season title after a program-best 17 wins. In his third season, Weber led Jordi Vives to a No. 35 national ranking, a nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streak and the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament - the program's first appearance.
 
#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.