SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The FGCU men's tennis team had its quest for a second-straight NCAA tournament appearance end in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Men's Tennis Championship. The top-seeded Eagles lost 4-3 to the hosts, No. 4 USC Upstate Saturday morning to bring an end to the 2016 season. The Green and Blue end the year 16-6 while USC Upstate improves to 9-13.

"That match hurt a lot, there's no getting around that," said head coach CJ Weber. "I felt like we prepared as well as we could, and we definitely put forth our best effort for another title run. Upstate played great today and capitalized on their opportunities. It was a great match. It was exciting and exactly what you look for in a competition, but it didn't go our way this time and that's sports. I'm incredibly proud of this team. We had a lot of new guys, various injuries, and many challenges throughout the year; and we overcame all of them. We did a great job throughout the regular season with having a target on our backs all year, and that's the first time we've experienced that. We need to continue to learn and grow and get better every day despite our season being over."

FGCU had played 10 matches to 4-3 finals this season heading into the A-Sun Championships, with the Eagles winning eight of those matches. The Green and Blue trailed early in the match, setting up yet another close contest.

Playing in front of its home crowd, Upstate won matches at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles by 6-2 and 6-1 finals respectively to claim the early 1-0 advantage. Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) though would ensure FGCU didn't stay down for long, defeating Ankush Arora 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 to tie the match.

Courts 3 and 5 finished almost simultaneously as the match moved to 2-2 overall. Jamie Yates defeated Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 just minutes before Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) wrapped up a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5.

Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) put FGCU in front, defeating Rajanvir Dharni at No. 6. Vaz won a first set tiebreaker and pulled away in the second set to win 6-4. With FGCU leading 3-2, only the Alfonzo brothers remained on the courts.

Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) finished first at No. 1, falling to Ramone Simonetti. The junior lost the first set 7-5 and led late in the second set, but Simonetti tied the set to force a tiebreaker. The Spartan claimed the tiebreaker 6-4 to even up the overall match.

Eduardo Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Barry University) was in a third set after defeating Lenhard Haupt 6-3 in the second set. Haupt however would prevail 6-3 in the third.
The loss was FGCU's first loss to a conference opponent since April 19, 2014 when the Eagles lost to UNF in the semifinals of the A-Sun Championships.

FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1) Simonetti/Arora (Upstate) def. A. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-2
2) Ventura/Vaz (FGCU) def. Yates/Dharni (Upstate) 2-3, DNF
3) Garrido/Bennion (Upstate) def. Fernandez/E. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-1
Singles
1) Simonetti (Upstate) def. A. Alfonzo (FGCU) 7-5, 7-6
2) Ventura (FGCU) def. Arora (Upstate) 6-4, 6-0
3) Yates (Upstate) def. Cerrini (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
4) Haupt (Upstate) def. E. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Garrido (Upstate) 6-3, 6-4
6) Vaz (FGCU) def. Dharni (Upstate) 7-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1), Singles (2, 3, 5, 6, 1, 4)

FOLLOW ALONG
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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 64-42 (.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.