FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the fourth-consecutive match to start the spring season, the FGCU women's tennis team will face an in-state opponent as they welcome the UCF Knights to the FGCU Tennis Complex on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.
 
"We're looking forward to hosting UCF this weekend and I know the girls are excited about playing at home," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "We're grateful for another opportunity to compete and improve on what we've been working on."
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Knights are off to a 2-0 start this season with a pair of convincing dual-match wins as they defeated Troy, 6-1, on Saturday, Jan. 23 and took down FAMU, 7-0, on Friday, Jan. 29.
 
In singles play, Caroline Eberhart and Sofia Baptista have posted 2-0 records in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots, respectively. Additionally, Cortney Cesarini and Emilia Granstrom have won their first two dual matches of the spring while Monica Matias and Diana Dehterevich are off to 1-0 starts. Entering the season, Matias was rated by the ITA as the No. 20 singles player in the Southeast Region.
 
In doubles play, Baptista has paired with Granstrom in the No. 1 position and Cesarini has teamed up with Natalia Serrano in the No. 2 slot as both duos are off to undefeated starts. The Knights have dropped only three doubles games to this point in the season.
 
FGCU competed against UCF in the fall as the Knights traveled to Fort Myers for the Bedford Cup from October 16-18.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, FGCU split a two-match road trip with a loss at USF and its first win of the season coming at Bethune-Cookman.
 
The Eagles dropped their match at USF, 7-0, before defeating Bethune-Cookman by a 5-2 margin, which marked their eighth-straight win against the Wildcats. FGCU swept the defending MEAC Conference Champions in doubles play and won four of six singles matches.
 
Individually, the four underclassmen on FGCU's roster in freshmen Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva), Joselyn Treyes Albarracin (Guayaquil, Ecuador/InternAmerican Academy) and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza. Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and sophomore Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) all notched wins over their Wildcat counterparts. In doubles play, all three FGCU duos in Curtis/Treyes Albarracin, Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS)/Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Ascua/Alexandra Landert (Zurich, Switzerland/Seton Hall) notched wins. Results from last Saturday are listed below.
 
Doubles
No. 1 Doubles: Curtis/Treyes Albarracin (FGCU) def. Matsuba/Vidal (B-CU): 7-5
No. 2 Doubles: Stampfli/Means (FGCU) def. Ifill/Hanton (B-CU): 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Ascúa/Landert (FGCU) def. Roki/Romero (B-CU): 6-2
 
Singles
No. 1 Singles: Matsuba (B-CU) def. Stampfli (FGCU): 4-6, 6-1, 7-6
No. 2 Singles: Roki (B-CU) def. Means (FGCU): 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Ascúa (FGCU) def. Ifill (B-CU): 6-2, 7-5
No. 4 singles: Treyes Albarracin (FGCU) def. Hanton (B-CU): 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 singles: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Romero (B-CU): 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 singles: Curtis (FGCU) def. Vidal (B-CU): 6-4, 6-2
 
UP NEXT
FGCU will take off on a North Carolina road trip as they compete against Elon on Friday, Feb. 19 at 1:30 p.m. before traveling east to play N.C. State on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 9 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 25-22 overall record (.532) 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.