BOCA RATON, Fla. – Following an 11 day break, the FGCU men's tennis team returns to the courts for a dual match against FAU Friday. The dual is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Boca Raton, with the Eagles carrying a 1-2 mark overall and FAU entering the weekend at 2-2.

LAST TIME OUT

The Eagles met with a pair of ranked opponents in Tallahassee the last time FGCU was in action. On Jan. 17, FGCU dropped a tightly contested 4-3 contest against No. 73 South Alabama. The following day, the Green and Blue fell 6-1 to No. 31 Florida State.

Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) defeated South Alabama's Tim Srkala 6-4, 6-2 to open the weekend for the Eagles and paired that with a 6-3 win in doubles alongside Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa). The duo defeated Srkala and Juan Troglia of South Alabama which momentarily evened up the doubles competition at 1-1.

Both Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) and Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) earned singles victories at various points of the weekend. Eduardo defeated Pierre Noyon of South Alabama 7-6, 7-5 while Andres won a three-set match over Florida State's Michael Rinaldi 7-5, 0-6, 1-0 (11-9), giving FGCU its only point of the dual.

SCOUTING THE OWLS

With wins over Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, FAU has bounced back from an 0-2 start to the 2016 campaign. The Owls began the year with a 4-2 loss to St. John's followed by a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Miami. Since then, FAU evened up its 2016 record with a 7-0 win over Bethune-Cookman and a 5-2 win over Florida A&M.

Andrei Morin-Kougoucheff appeared last season for the Owls at the No. 1 position, but has not made an appearance this spring. The Owls have utilized both Alexander Gitin and Jaoa Gauer at No. 1 singles with Gauer earning the only win from that position.

Gauer is also part of the No. 1 doubles tandem, pairing with Gerald Nickerson. The duo is 1-3 in 2016 with a win over Bethune-Cookman. Meanwhile, Gitin has spent time at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, going 1-1 at both positions. Gitin has paired with Anthony Schonn and Zandrex Acob during the early portions of the 2016 season.

Remi Chancerel has been the lone No. 3 singles player for FAU this season, entering the weekend with a 3-0 record including a win over No. 107 Max Andrews of Miami. Chancerel has paired with David Engel in every dual this season, appearing at both No. 2 and No. 3 singles.

The Eagles defeated FAU 6-1 last season behind a doubles win from Ventura and Vaz along with singles wins from both Alfonzo brothers.

NEXT UP

The Eagles return home for the first of three consecutive home matches. First up for the Green and Blue is Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 5 followed by a match with Marquette on Feb. 7.

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 48-39 (.551) 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.