FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a win against Eastern Michigan, the FGCU women's tennis team (4-3) continues its busy schedule by welcoming No. 47 Georgia State and SEC-foe Tennessee to the FGCU Tennis Complex this weekend. The Eagles will take on the Panthers (4-1) Friday at 4p.m., while their match against the Volunteers (4-4) is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m.

Friday's match marks the second time in program history the Eagles have met with the Panthers after dropping the first meeting, 4-2, in 2015. Sunday will be the first match versus Tennessee in program history.
 
"We're looking forward to hosting a couple of very tough teams this weekend," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "The girls are excited to compete and are looking forward to this challenge and opportunity."
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Georgia State enters its match against FGCU with a No. 47 national ranking and 4-1 record in dual matches this season. After starting the season 4-0 and registering a win against then-No. 29 South Carolina, the Panthers suffered their first setback against current No. 62 FIU last weekend. As a team, Georgia State has played particularly well in singles play, where they have posted a 22-8 record to this point in the season. In the pivotal doubles play, though, the Panthers are 8-6 overall.
 
After dropping its first match of the season against Wake Forest, Tennessee went on a four-match win streak, blanking all four opponents along the way. Most recently, the Volunteers have dropped three-straight matches against Georgia Tech, Indiana and Ohio State. Sadie Hammond leads Tennessee with a 5-2 record in No.1 singles, while Kim Kermet has gone 4-2 in the No. 2 position. In doubles play, Hammond has paired with Eve Repic to post a 4-2 mark in the top spot.
 
Also this weekend, Georgia State and Tennessee will compete in a neutral-site dual match at the FGCU Tennis Complex Saturday at 10 a.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After claiming a 7-0 win against Eastern Michigan in their return to Fort Myers for a seven-match homestand, FGCU has now won four of its last five matches, including two in a row at the FGCU Tennis Complex. The Eagles are now 4-3 on the season, marking their best start to the spring since opening the 2012-13 season 5-2.
 
FGCU got out to an early lead after claiming the doubles point against Eastern Michigan and is now 4-0 in matches when winning the opening point, compared to 0-3 when dropping the doubles set. The tandem of Julia Ascua (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) handled Eastern Michigan's Marie Mayerova and Ani Gogvadze, 6-1, in the No. 2 position. Not long after, Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) teamed up to defeat Anna Veleva and Renu Sharma, 6-4, to claim the pivotal doubles point.
 
The Green and Blue maintained the momentum from doubles play by sweeping the match with wins in all six singles matches. Treyes Albarracin returned to competition and claimed a 6-1, 6-3 win against Mayerova in No. 3 singles. Ascua then claimed the Eagles first win of the season in the No. 2 position with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Gogvadze to push FGCU's lead to 3-0. With a chance to claim the match, Means did just that for the Green and Blue as she defeated Martinovska in a second-set tiebreak and won in the No. 4 position by a final margin of 6-3, 7-6 (6).
 
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 28-23 overall record (.549) 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.