FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming back twice in the match, the FGCU men's tennis team defeated Texas-San Antonio 4-3 Tuesday night in dramatic fashion. With their 11th straight home win, the Eagles are now 10-6 on year while UTSA is 2-12.

"This was an incredible match," said head coach CJ Weber. "We had a great crowd out there and everybody was making a lot of noise and providing a lot of energy. This is the way college tennis is supposed to be: fun, loud and interactive. The win never hurts either. This match got interesting when we didn't finish off the doubles point. We need to learn from that and move on. UTSA is very well-coached and I knew this was going to be a battle. I'm glad we had another tough challenge before conference play begins."

The Eagles fell behind early against the Roadrunners, a top 60 team from a season ago, dropping the doubles point with losses at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) and Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) fell 6-3 to begin the evening but Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) bounced back to even up doubles with a 6-4 win at No. 2. Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) held a lead late in their match, but fell in the tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4).

Alfonzo did not allow FGCU to stay behind for long, winning his match at No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-2 over Christian Carrillo. Cerrini followed suit, winning his match at No. 2 singles over Eric Buchalter.

"It feels amazing to be back at home," Alfonzo said. "Tonight was a tough battle with a great atmosphere and great support from our fans. Once again we showed a lot of character bouncing back after losing a tight doubles point."

Momentum began slipping away from the Eagles with losses at No. 1 and No. 6 singles. Ventura and Vaz dropped three-set matches to Diogo Casa and Fabian Brand respectively as FGCU fell behind 3-2 in the match.

With Fernandez and Landert on the courts, the duo finished within minutes of each other to clinch an Eagle win. Fernandez wrapped up first, defeating Takeru Watanabe 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 at No. 5 singles. Almost immediately after Fernandez celebrated his win, Landert sealed the victory with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Joao Riquelme.

"I believe the team came out motivated after losing the doubles point," Fernandez said. "I had to play smart throughout the match. I felt pretty good on the court and in the end I was able to adapt and keep my intensity."

UP NEXT
The Eagles begin their Atlantic Sun regular season title defense March 24 and 26 against Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. The road dual matches mark the beginning of conference play as FGCU looks to extend its 12-match winning streak in A-Sun play. The Eagles face the Bisons to open A-Sun play Thursday March 24 in Nashville before making the trip the Kennesaw, Georgia to meet the Owls on Saturday March 26.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Casa/Brand (UTSA) def. Ventura/Vaz (FGCU) 6-3
2) Buchalter/Watanabe (UTSA) def. Landert/Cerrini (FGCU) 7-6 (7-4)
3) Alfonzo/Fernandez (FGCU) def. Carrillo/Pearson (UTSA) 6-4
SINGLES
1) Casa (UTSA) def. Ventura (FGCU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
2) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Buchalter (UTSA) 6-2, 7-5
3) Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Carrillo (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
4) Landert (FGCU) def. Riquelme (UTSA) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
5) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Watanabe (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
6) Brand (UTSA) def. Vaz (FGCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2), Singles (3, 2, 1, 6, 5, 4)
 
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 58-42 (.580) 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.