SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The No. 2 seed FGCU women's tennis team (12-8, 5-1 A-Sun) advanced to its second straight A-Sun Championship Final by defeating No. 3 seed Stetson (9-13, 4-2 A-Sun), 4-1, Saturday afternoon at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
 
Saturday's win marked the Eagles' second against Stetson in the last two weeks and their fourth in the last five matchups. Similar to last season, the Eagles defeated the Hatters in the semifinals and will face defending champion and No. 1 seed UNF in the championship match Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
After claiming the doubles point and winning two of the first three singles matches in straight sets, First Team All-Conference performer Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) responded from a first-set loss to win back-to-back sets and claim the match in the decisive third set.
 
"The girls were focused today and played with a lot of intent," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "UNF is obviously a tough opponent, but we're looking forward to the challenge they present in tomorrow's championship."
 
The FGCU duo of Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) got the match started with a win 6-2 on court three, but Stetson was able to even it up with a 6-3 win in the No. 2 position. Then, with the doubles point hinging on court one, the Eagles' tandem of Ascúa and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) won their league-leading 14th match of the season, 6-4, against Arijana Korac and Isabella Fernandez.
 
Curtis kept the momentum going with a straight-set win against Fernandez in the No. 3 position, but Stetson got on the scoreboard as conference wins leader Eveline Lepinay defeated FGCU's other First Team All-Conference performer, Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent), in the top spot.
 
Means, a two-time Second Team All-Conference selection, then notched a straight-set win against Maja Salibasic, defeating her by identical scores of 6-2, in No. 4 singles to provide Ascúa with the match-clinching opportunity.
 
Earlier in the afternoon, UNF claimed a 4-0 win against No. 4 seed Lipscomb to also advance to the championship match for the second straight season and set the table to a rematch of last year's final between the Eagles and Ospreys.
 
SATURDAY RESULTS
Doubles
No. 1 Doubles: Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU) def. Korac/Fernandez (STET): 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Lyubimova/Salibasic (STET) def. Stampfli/Landert (FGCU): 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: Falceto Font/Means (FGCU) def. Lepinay/Dean (STET): 6-2
 
Singles
No. 1 Singles: Lepinay (STET) def. Stampfli (FGCU): 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 Singles: Ascúa (FGCU) vs. Korac (STET): 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Singles: Curtis (FGCU) def. Fernandez (STET): 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 Singles: Means (FGCU) vs. Salibasic (STET): 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Singles: Falceto Font (FGCU) vs. Meregalli (STET): 6-2, 5-4 (DNF)
No. 6 Singles: Landert (FGCU) vs. Dean (STET): 6-2, 5-7 (5), 1-0 (DNF)
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2)
 
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 36-28 overall record (.562) 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.