NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The FGCU women's tennis team (6-7) begins conference play with a pair of road matches as the Eagles travel north to face Lipscomb (10-3) Thursday at 9:30 a.m. before traveling a few hours southeast to play Kennesaw State (1-11) Saturday at 10 a.m.
 
"We are very excited to begin conference play against Lipscomb and Kennesaw State this weekend," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "Lipscomb sits atop the conference and is a very tough team. The girls are focused and ready to compete hard."
 
FGCU's six wins so far this season are four more than the start of conference play during the 2014-15 season. Over the past two years, the Eagles have become a major factor in the A-Sun as they have gone a combined 10-4 under Vernon and finished third in the regular season on both occasions. Additionally, the Green and Blue made its first-ever conference championship finals appearance in 2015.
 
A duo of freshman enter this weekend's matches riding hot streaks as Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and Julia Ascua (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) have won four and three consecutive matches, respectively. Falceto Font has played in No. 6 singles for much of the season and is 5-1 out of that position while Ascua has gone 4-2 in the No. 3 slot.
 
In doubles play, Ascua has teamed up with Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) to go 7-2 overall and 6-1 out of the No. 2 position. The Eagles have lost only two matches when dropping the doubles point and are 21-14 in doubles competition in dual-matches this season.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
Lipscomb enters Thursday's match with a 10-3 overall record and sits atop the current A-Sun standings. After beginning the season 1-2, the Bison have won 10 of their last 11 matches and went on a seven-match win streak from Feb. 7 to March 5. Against a common opponent in Tennessee, Lipscomb dropped a 7-0 decision while FGCU fell 5-2.
 
Hannah Gamage is Lipscomb's top player in singles competition as she has posted a 5-4 record out of the No. 1 position while Laura Kent has gone 7-1 in the No. 3 position and Melissa Kromer leads the Bison with nine dual-match wins.  As a team, Lipscomb is 42-21 in singles competition. In doubles play, Kent and Kromer lead the way with a 7-2 overall record and are currently riding a six-match win streak while the Bison are 21-8 as a team.
 
FGCU is 9-0 in the all-time series against Lipscomb and most recently registered a 5-2 win against the Bison at the FGCU Tennis Complex during the 2014-15 season. The Eagles knocked Lipscomb out of the 2014 A-Sun Championship with a 4-0 win in the quarterfinal round.
 
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Kennesaw State enters the week with a 1-11 overall record and will host Chattanooga Wednesday at noon before beginning conference play Saturday. The Owls lone win of the season came by a 5-1 margin against Jacksonville State on Feb. 12, and the team is currently on a seven-match slide.
 
Cristina Martin has competed in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions in singles play and has posted a pair of wins this season while Isabela Castro and Alexandra Mercado lead the team after winning three matches apiece. In doubles competition, Mercado has teamed up with Ashleigh De Wet as the most successful duo with a 2-2 record this season.
 
FGCU has also found success in the all-time series with Kennesaw State, having posted a 7-2 overall record. The Eagles defeated the Owls, 6-1, in the regular season before ending their season with a 4-0 win in the quarterfinal round of the A-Sun Championship.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The FGCU women's tennis team (6-7) responded from back-to-back losses in a big way as they blanked Northern Illinois (5-6) and claimed the match, 7-0, Wednesday, March 16 at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
FGCU won the doubles point and never looked back as they also claimed each of the six singles matches in straight sets against the Huskies
 
In doubles play, Ascua and Curtis registered a dominant, 6-0, win against NIU's Abigail Dekkinga and Michelle Erasmus in the No. 2 slot before Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Jospeh's Convent) and Joselyn Treyes Albarracin (Guayaquil, Ecuador/InterAmerican Academy) won a close match after claiming the tiebreak against Adey Osabuohien and Evelyn Youel, 7-6, in the top position to take the cumulative point.
 
The Eagles then shutout out the Huskies in singles competition as all six matches were decided in straight sets. Ascua blanked Dekkinga as she claimed a 6-0, 6-0 match in the No. 3 position for her third consecutive win, while Falceto Font won her fourth straight after registering a 6-1, 6-0 win against Montgomerie in the No. 6 spot to bring FGCU within one point of claiming the match. Curtis then closed it out with a 6-4, 6-0 win against Erasmus in No. 4 singles to halt a two-match losing streak for FGCU heading into conference play. With the match already decided, Treyes Albarracin recorded a 6-2, 7-5 win against Alvarez in the No. 2 spot. Moments later, Stampfli claimed her match in the top spot after winning back-to-back sets against Osabuohien by identical scores of 6-3 before Means ended the night with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Youel in No. 5 singles.
 
UP NEXT
FGCU hosts its conference home-opener next week by welcoming A-Sun newcomer NJIT and USC Upstate. The Eagles will play the Highlanders Thursday at 6 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex and have a quick turnaround before their matchup with the Spartans Saturday at 2 p.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 30-27 overall record (.526) 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.