ELON, N.C. – On the strength of a two-match win streak, the FGCU women's tennis team pushed that number to three-straight wins with a 4-3 victory against the Elon Phoenix at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, FGCU improved to 3-2 on the season, marking the program's best start since 2012-13, while Elon fell to 1-6.
 
"The girls found a way to get it done today," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "There is no other way to describe what went on today. They made a choice of what they wanted, and they got it done. We're looking forward to taking this focus into our match with N.C. State tomorrow morning."
 
The Green and Blue claimed the doubles point for the third-straight match and remained undefeated in matches during which they got out to an early lead. The Eagles and Phoenix exchanged wins in the first two doubles matches. Playing in the No. 1 position, the FGCU duo of Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) and Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) defeated Elon's Kristen Ward and Suzanne Zenoni, 6-2, before the Eagles' upperclassmen tandem of Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) and Alexandra Landert (Zurich, Switzerland/Seton Hall) fell to Taylor Casey and Erica Braschi by the same margin in the No. 2 spot. Then, with the match tied 1-1, Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Laura Falceto Fony (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) clinched the doubles point after taking care of Natalia Janowicz and Kamilla Beisenova, 6-3.
 
FGCU dropped the opening match in No. 4 singles as Curtis fell to Zenoni in straight sets (6-2, 6-1), but the Eagles responded by winning the next three matches to claim their third-straight win. In No. 6 singles, Landert defeated Beisenova (6-4, 6-3) to break the 1-1 tie. Later, Means won her match over Janowicz in No. 3 singles in dramatic fashion to extend the FGCU lead. The Washington, D.C., native dropped the first set, 6-2, but responded with a 6-3 win in the second set before claiming the match in a third-set tiebreak, 7-6 (3). Minutes later in No. 1 singles, Stampfli, who was named the A-Sun Player of the Week on Feb. 10 following her match-clinching win against UCF, again sealed the deal for the Green and Blue as she too responded from a first-set loss to ultimately win the match by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 margin. After the match was all but wrapped up, Falceto Font and Ascua dropped their matches in No. 5 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
 
FRIDAY RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1 Doubles: Curtis/Ascua (FGCU) def. Ward/Zenoni (Elon): 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Casey/Braschi (Elon) def. Means/Landert (FGCU): 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Stampfli/Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Janowicz/Beisenova (Elon): 6-3
 
Singles
No. 1 Singles: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Lucas (Elon): 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Singles: Braschi (Elon) def. Ascua (FGCU): 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-3
No. 3 Singles: Means (FGCU) def. Janowicz (Elon): 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
No. 4 Singles: Zenoni (Elon) def. Curtis (FGCU): 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 Singles: Casey (Elon) def. Falceto Font (FGCU): 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (5)
No. 6 Singles: Landert (FGCU) def. Beisenova (Elon): 6-4, 6-3
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (4, 6, 3, 1, 5, 2)
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will now travel an hour east to Raleigh, N.C., to take on the No. 65 N.C. State Wolfpack at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Following their two-match swing in the Tar Heel State, FGCU will return to Fort Myers for seven-straight home matches, starting with a dual against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date coverage of FGCU women's tennis, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available.
 
HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU's women's tennis team is led by Courtney Vernon, whose second season under the helm saw the Eagles finish third in the conference standings with the program's first-ever appearance in the Atlantic Sun Championship Final. She has produced nine A-Sun All-Conference selections and the 2014 A-Sun Freshman of the Year. She has led the Green and Blue to a 26-22 overall record (.542) and 10-4 conference record (.714) in her two years at FGCU.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
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.