SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After concluding the regular season with a program-best finish in conference play, the FGCU women's tennis team (11-8, 5-1 A-Sun) has its eyes on making another run in the A-Sun Championship hosted by USC Upstate this weekend.
 
A season ago, the Eagles made their first-ever appearance in the A-Sun Championship Final, ultimately falling to No. 1 seed UNF. This year, after earning the No. 2 seed and receiving an opening-round bye, the Green and Blue will look to make a finals appearance in back-to-back years as they open play against the winner of Friday night's Stetson versus NJIT match Saturday at 5 p.m. at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
 
"The girls are feeling very confident going into the conference tournament," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "Overall, this has been a very good season. They've grown a lot from January to this point and are excited to compete. Just dealing with the pressure and the opportunity to play in the conference tournament is always going to be a challenge, but it's a welcome challenge and we're looking forward to seeing what we can do if we're all on the same page and ready to compete as hard as we can."
 
THE MATCHUP
FGCU will face the winner of Friday night's matchup between No. 3 Stetson and No. 6 NJIT. Within the last three weeks, the Green and Blue has claimed wins against both opponents, defeating conference-newcomer NJIT, 7-0, on March 31 and taking down Stetson, 6-1, on April 9. Last month's match vs. NJIT was the second in program history as FGCU improved to 2-0 against the Highlanders. On the other hand, Stetson holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series, but FGCU has won three of the last four matches, including last year's A-Sun Championship Semifinal.

SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson enters the A-Sun Championship with an 8-12 overall record and went 4-2 in conference play. The Hatters started the A-Sun season with four straight wins, but dropped its last two regular season matches to FGCU and UNF and earned the No. 3 seed this weekend.
 
In singles play, the Hatters are led by senior Eveline Lepinay, who finished the regular season tied for the league lead with 14 wins, all coming in the No. 1 position, and was named First Team All-Conference earlier this week.
 
In doubles competition, the tandem of Lepinay and Maja Salibasic claimed a team-leading eight wins in dual-match action while playing in each of the first two positions. As a team, the Hatters went 19-32 overall and 8-7 against A-Sun opponents.
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT capped off the regular season with a 5-14 overall record and 1-5 mark in league play to earn the No. 6 seed in the A-Sun Championship during its first season as a member of the conference. In the regular season finale, they defeated USC Upstate to claim the final seed this weekend.
 
In singles play, the Highlanders are led by Rafaella Sampaio, who posted an 8-10 dual-match record while primarily competing in the No. 1 position and was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team earlier this week.
 
In doubles competition, NJIT went 11-39 overall and 2-11 in conference play. They were led by the duo of Sampaio and Amanda Helminsky, who posted a 5-10 record in the No. 2 position.

CONFERENCE HONORS
Earlier this week, the Green and Blue had seven members of its team earn a total of 14 A-Sun Postseason Honors including the Co-Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards.
 
Vernon became the first coach in program history to earn Coach of the Year distinction, while Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) was also the first Eagle to take home Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) were named First Team All-Conference. Additionally, Means and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) were named Second Team All-Conference in singles play, while the Eagles' No. 2 tandem of Ascúa and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) earned the same recognition in doubles competition. All three FGCU freshman were also named to the All-Freshman Team and Curtis joined Means as an All-Academic selection.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
FGCU enters the conference tournament as winners of six of its last seven matches, with four of those wins coming in shutout fashion.
 
In doubles play, FGCU has claimed the cumulative point in five straight matches and posted a 13-3 record during the A-Sun season. The Eagles were led by the duo of Ascúa and Curtis, who led the league with 13 wins and were the lone tandem to go a perfect 6-0 in conference play.
 
In single competition, the Green and Blue went 30-6 against A-Sun opponents and were led by Falceto Font's team-leading 13 wins. The freshman Spaniard ended the season on a 10-match win streak and was one of three players to go undefeated in league play.  
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday
No. 3 Stetson vs. No. 6 NJIT
No. 4 Lipscomb vs. No. 5 Kennesaw State
 
Saturday
No. 1 UNF vs. No. 4 Lipscomb/No. 5 Kennesaw State, 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 FGCU vs. No. 3 Stetson/No. 6 NJIT, 5 p.m.

Sunday
Semifinal winners, 1 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 third season under the helm saw the Eagles finish in a program-best second place in the regular season conference standings. A year ago, Vernon led the Eagles to their first-ever appearance in the Atlantic Sun Championship Final. She has produced seventeen A-Sun All-Conference selections, including the 2014 and 2016 A-Sun Freshman of the Year and 2016 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to a 35-28 overall record (.556) and 15-5 conference record (.750) in her three 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.