ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 74 FGCU men's tennis team saw its four-game winning streak end with a 4-3 defeat to UCF Friday. FGCU (5-3) took a 2-1 lead after two early wins in singles, but could not hang out as UCF (3-3) claimed three of the final four to clinch the win.

"UCF played a great overall match today in singles and doubles," said head coach CJ Weber. "We are looking forward to another challenge tomorrow with UT-Arlington and Connecticut."

The Eagles fell behind after doubles play, dropping matches at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) fell in the first completed match 6-2 to Mariano Porter and Jack Thiessen. Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) evened up the doubles point, claiming a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles over Tyler Pate and Jose Sangroniz. The Knights secured the 1-0 advantage, following a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles where Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) fell to Chris Barrus and Inaki Espindola.

The Green and Blue turned it around early in singles play behind a Fernandez 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles. Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) then made it 2-1 FGCU with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles over Sangroniz.

The Knights evened up the match at 2-2, behind a Chris Barrus win over Eduardo Alfonzo (7-6, 6-3) at No. 3 singles. Nico de Fraia then put FGCU down 3-2 with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Landert at No. 5 singles.

The Eagle's winning streak officially ended when Andres Alfonzo fell 6-4, 7-5 to Espindola at No. 1 singles. Cerrini ended the afternoon for FGCU with a 6-0, 6-7, 6-0 win at No. 4.

UP NEXT
The Green and Blue remain in Orlando for a pair of dual matches tomorrow. At 10 a.m., FGCU faces Texas-Arlington and then Connecticut at 3 p.m.

FGCU RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Barrus/Espindola (UCF) def. Vaz/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-4
2) A. Alfonzo/Fernandez (FGCU) def. Pate/Sangroniz (UCF) 6-4
3) Porter/Thiessen (UCF) def. Landert/E. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-2
SINGLES
1) Espindola (UCF) def. A. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-4, 7-5
2) Ventura (FGCU) def. Sangroniz (UCF) 6-1, 6-3
3) Barrus (UCF) def. E. Alfonzo (FGCU) 7-6, 6-3
4) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Porter (UCF) 6-0, 6-7, 6-0
5) De Fraia (UCF) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-2, 7-6
6) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Thiessen (UCF) 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles(3, 2, 1), Singles  (6, 2, 3, 5, 1, 4)

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 52-40 (.565) 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.