FORT MYERS, Fla. – After splitting a pair of road matches with a win at Elon and a loss at No. 65 N.C. State, the FGCU women's tennis team (3-3) returns to the FGCU Tennis Complex for a match with Eastern Michigan (2-7) on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
 
Tuesday's matchup between FGCU and Eastern Michigan marks the second in program history. The previous matchup between the two teams took place on Feb. 25, 2009, when Eastern Michigan came into the FGCU Tennis Complex and defeated FGCU by a final score of 5-2.
 
"The girls are excited to play on their home court after a couple of tough road matches," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "We're focused heading into a busy stretch of the season and are looking forward to getting back out there."
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan makes the trip south riding a four-match losing streak. With a 2-7 overall record, the Eagles are yet to win a dual match on the road this season. Their two wins of the spring came against Oakland at home (5-2) and in a neutral-site match with Air Force (5-2) in Lincoln, Neb., with losses suffered against Michigan State (2-5), Purdue (2-5), Nebraska (2-5), Iowa (1-6), Marquette (1-6), Xavier (0-7) and Wake Forest (0-7).
 
Individually, Eastern Michigan is led by Klara Supejova, who has posted a 5-4 record in No. 1 singles play this season. After starting the season 5-2 with wins over individuals from nationally-ranked Michigan State and Purdue, Supejova has dropped each of her last two matches at Xavier and Wake Forest. In doubles play, the senior has paired with sophomore Andrea Martinovska to post a 3-5 record in the No. 1 position.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU split a pair of matches with a 4-3 win at Elon, pushing their win streak to three matches and getting off to the program's best start since 2012-13, followed by a 7-0 loss at No. 65 N.C. State. The match-opening doubles point continues to be a pivotal factor for the Eagles as they are 0-3 when losing the point and 3-0 when winning.
 
After claiming the doubles point against the Phoenix, FGCU dropped the opening match in No. 4 singles as Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) fell to Suzanne Zenoni in straight sets (6-2, 6-1). However, the Eagles responded by winning the next three matches to claim their third-straight win. In No. 6 singles, Alexandra Landert (Zurich, Switzerland/Seton Hall) defeated Kamilla Beisenova (6-4, 6-3) to break the 1-1 tie. Later, Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) won her match over Natalia 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, Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent), 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 her match by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 margin.
 
The next day, FGCU was swept in a tough road matchup against the nationally-ranked Wolfpack. N.C. State claimed the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions and never looked back as they kept the momentum going in singles competition, winning five of six matches in straight sets.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue will host a pair of matches this weekend with Georgia State coming to the FGCU Tennis Complex on Friday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m., followed by a match with No. 64 Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.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 27-23 overall record (.540) 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.