FORT MYERS, Fla. – In his fifth year in charge of the FGCU men's tennis program, head coach CJ Weber earned his 50th career win as the Eagles defeated Bethune-Cookman 5-2 Friday night. FGCU never trailed in the match to improve to 3-2 on the season, while Bethune-Cookman fell to 2-2 with the loss.

"I felt we started off slow in doubles today, but the guys quickly turned it around after the first few games," Weber said. "I'm happy we were able to get the doubles point heading into singles. When Javi [Fernandez] wins, it's a clinching point I guess. He is such a great competitor and a lot of fun to watch. I'm also happy for Manfred [Fellin] as he got his first win as an Eagle. He has made some significant improvements this week and I was happy he was able to implement them in the match."

The Eagles wasted little time taking an early lead over Bethune-Cookman with dominant showing in doubles play. It was the No. 1 doubles team of Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) and Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) that finished first, claiming a 6-3 win over Walid Gtari and Jose Plazas after falling behind 3-2 early in the match.

At No. 2 doubles, Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Chris Perrigan (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay HS) finished shortly after Ventura and Vaz, defeating Pablo Lopez and Justin Hall 6-3. The freshmen duo of Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) led 5-2 at No. 3 doubles, but they did not finish their match against Alexander Chepik and Greg Almeida as the doubles point was already secured.

FGCU's lead quickly grew to 3-0, behind Cerrini's 6-1, 6-0 singles win over Hall at the No. 3 position which was followed by a 6-2, 6-1 Landert win at No. 2 singles over Gtari.

Bethune-Cookman, which had produced consecutive come-from-behind victories entering Friday's contest, earned its first point of the match at No. 1 singles when Chepik defeated Ventura 6-3, 6-3. However, Fernandez ended all possibilities of a comeback with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles and also securing Weber his 50th career win. The win was Fernandez's second match-clinching win of his young career.

Manfred Fellin (Monza, Italy/Liceo dello Sport Marco Pantani) earned his first win as an Eagle, defeating Almeida 6-3, 6-3 from the No. 5 spot. In the final match of the evening, Vaz dropped his first set to Barrero 6-1, but stormed back to force a third set following a 6-2 second set victory. In the third, the senior came back from 5-2 down to force a tiebreak, but he fell 7-3.

UP NEXT
FGCU has a day off before facing Marquette Sunday at noon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.  

FGCU Results
Doubles
1) Ventura/Vaz (FGCU) def. Gtari/Plazas (B-CU) 6-3
2) Landert/Perrigan (FGCU) def. Lopez/Hall (B-CU) 6-3
3) Cerrini/Fernandez (FGCU) vs. Chepik/Almeida (B-CU) 5-2, DNF

Singles
1) Chepik (B-CU) def. Ventura (FGCU) 6-3, 6-3
2) Landert (FGCU) def. Gtari (B-CU) 6-2, 6-1
3) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Hall (B-CU) 6-1, 6-0
4) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Plazas (B-CU) 7-5, 6-2
5) Fellin (FGCU) def. Almeida (B-CU) 6-3, 6-3
6) Barrera (B-CU) def. Vaz (FGCU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2), Singles (3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6)

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 50-39 (.562) 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.