SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following a regular season title, the FGCU men's tennis team sets its sights on a second-consecutive Atlantic Sun Tournament championship this weekend. With its second-straight regular season crown, the Eagles earned a first round bye, the No. 1 seed in the championships, and will face USC Upstate Saturday at 9 a.m. The hosts Upstate defeated Lipscomb 4-1 in the opening round Friday morning.

Live stats are available through the Atlantic Sun throughout the weekend.

The 2016 Atlantic Sun Men's Tennis Championships are being held on the campus of USC Upstate. The tournament is in single-elimination format and the tournament champion is will be crowned Sunday afternoon. FGCU earned the No. 1 overall seed, followed by UNF at No. 2 and Stetson at No. 3.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
The Eagles earned a total of 10 awards when the A-Sun announced its All-Conference teams after compiling a 16-5 record overall and a 6-0 mark in the conference. Highlighted by Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) being named Freshman of the Year and CJ Weber earning his second Coach of the Year honor in as many years, every Eagle who played in a conference match was recognized.

First Team All-Conference selection Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) has tallied a total of 18 wins this season, 13 of which have come during dual matches. Alfonzo has featured at both No. 1 and No. 2 and has produced two conference wins this season. Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) was a Second Team honoree, going 3-9 from No. 1 but tallying eight wins this spring.

Also on the Second Team, Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) made four appearances late in the season for FGCU, producing a 3-1 record at No. 6 to earn his spot. In addition to his Freshman of the Year honor, Fernandez earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team and the Second Team, finishing the conference season a perfect 6-0.

Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) and Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) went 3-0 at No. 3 doubles in conference play, while producing a 5-3 mark at that position throughout the spring to earn Second Team honors.

The final award winner, Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) was named to the All-Freshman Team after winning 13 matches this spring and three conference matches. Cerrini featured at multiple positions, posting winning records at No. 2 and No. 5.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Upstate finished the season 7-13 and 3-3 in the A-Sun. The Spartans defeated Lipscomb 4-1 in the opening match of the tournament, taking an early lead with two doubles wins. Ramon Simonetti and Ankush Arora won their match at No. 1 while Ignacio Garrido and Matt Bennion earned a win at No. 3.

In singles, Simonetti, Garrido, and Rajanvir Dharni sealed the overall win.

FGCU evened up the overall series with Upstate at 5-5 with its 5-1 win earlier this season. The Eagles received wins from No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. Following a suspension due to rain, Vaz, Fernandez and Cerrini wrapped up the win for the Green and Blue. Eduardo Alfonzo and Landert also earned wins in the first meeting this season.

Should FGCU defeat Upstate, the Eagles will face the winner of No. 2 UNF and either No. 3 Stetson or No. 6 Kennesaw State.

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 23 A-Sun All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his fifth year, Weber has compiled a 64-41 (.605) overall record and a 26-11 (.694) 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.