FORT MYERS Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (9-7, 3-0 A-Sun) continued its fast start to conference play with a 7-0 shutout win against A-Sun newcomer NJIT (4-12, 0-3 A-Sun) Thursday evening at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
With the win, the Green and Blue not only extended its win streak to a season-high four matches, but also claimed its third match by a 7-0 margin during the span.
 
"The girls continued to play well with another shutout win today," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "It was a good match for the ladies, and they're focused and excited to compete again on Saturday against USC Upstate."
 
FGCU made quick work of the Highlanders in doubles play as they claimed a pair of 6-0 decision in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions to win the cumulative point.
 
Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) breezed through their match against NJIT's tandem of Ines Vujkovac and Tiffany Barnes on court three, before Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) won their fourth consecutive match as a tandem and improved to 9-1 in the No. 2 position with a shutout win against Rafaella Sampaio and Amanda Helminsky.
 
Then, with doubles play already decided, FGCU's No. 1 duo of Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Joselyn Treyes Albarracin (Guayaquil, Ecuador/InterAmerican Academy) came back from a two-point deficit to win their match, 6-4.
 
The Eagles maintained the early momentum in singles play as all six matches were decided in straight sets.
 
Falceto Font became the first Eagle to reach double-digit wins in dual-match action and pushed her win streak to seven with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Barnes in No. 6 singles, where she is now 8-1 this season. The match was decided in just over 30 minutes.
 
Later, a trio of matches ended in rapid succession as the Green and Blue clinched the match in just over an hour and a half. Stampfli won her fourth straight match in the No. 1 position with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Sampaio, and, moments later, Curtis claimed the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Vujkovac in No. 4 singles. Then, Ascúa, the reigning A-Sun Player of the Week, pushed her win streak to six matches by defeating Rosas Garcia by an identical margin.
 
FGCU never let up as Treyes Albarracin claimed a 6-3, 6-4 win against Habegger in the No. 2 position, before Means capped off the night with a 6-2, 7-5 win against Helminsky in No. 5 singles. It was the fourth straight singles win for both ladies.
 
THURSDAY RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1 Doubles: Stampfli/Treyes Albarracin (FGCU) def. Habegger/Rosas Garcia (NJIT): 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Ascua/Curtis (FGCU) def. Sampaio/Helminsky (NJIT): 6-0
No. 3 Doubles: Falceto Font/Means (FGCU) def. Vujkovac/Barnes (NJIT): 6-0
 
Singles
No. 1 Singles: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Sampaio (NJIT): 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Treyes Albarracin (FGCU) def. Habegger (NJIT): 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Singles: Ascua (FGCU) def. Rosas Garcia (NJIT): 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 Singles: Curtis (FGCU) def. Vujkovac (NJIT): 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 Singles: Means (FGCU) def. Helminsky (NJIT): 6-2, 7-5
No. 6 Singles: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Barnes (NJIT): 6-0, 6-0
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (6, 1, 4, 3, 2, 5)
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles have a quick turnaround before hosting USC Upstate (0-16, 0-2 A-Sun) Saturday at 2 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex. The Spartans hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series vs. FGCU, but the Green and Blue have won three of the last four meetings, including each of the last two.
 
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 33-27 overall record (.550) and 13-4 conference record (.765) 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.