JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With a second-straight Atlantic Sun regular season crown within reach, the FGCU men's tennis team faces two of the top three teams in the conference this weekend. Beginning with a rematch of last season's tournament championship, the Eagles face the No. 71 Ospreys of UNF Thursday in Jacksonville before wrapping up the regular season Saturday against Stetson at home.

Both FGCU and Stetson enter the weekend 4-0 in conference play while the newly-ranked No. 71 Ospreys come into the week 3-1. Action Thursday against UNF is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Jacksonville. The Eagles then make the return trip home to face Stetson Saturday on Senior Night beginning at 6 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS
FGCU's 16-match winning streak in A-Sun play will be put to the test against the Ospreys and Hatters, but should the run reach 18 the Eagles will earn an outright Atlantic Sun title for the second consecutive season. However, if the Eagles falter against either the Ospreys or the Hatters, the Green and Blue will need some help. FGCU is not in action next weekend, but UNF and Stetson will face each other in a match that would hold championship implications. Should both FGCU and Stetson lose, it would be just the second time ever and the first time since 2011, the regular season champion would not finish the year undefeated.

The two scenarios in which FGCU would not win at least a share of the title are if FGCU loses both matches or if the Eagles lose to Stetson Saturday and the Hatters defeat UNF on April 16.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU moved one step to closer to a second-straight A-Sun title with a pair of wins last weekend. The Eagles started the weekend with a dominant 6-1 win over NJIT Thursday. It all started with a pair of doubles wins for the Eagles, putting the home team in front 1-0 entering singles. Lucas Vaz (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Fleming/Tulsa) earned the second of his four total wins with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 6, filling in for the first of two FGCU late lineup changes over the weekend. Vaz earned two doubles and two singles wins to assist the Green and Blue.

No. 1 proved to be a difficult task as Ricky Ventura (Barcelona, Spain/University of Barcelona) and Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Texas Christian University) each faltered in their respective No. 1 matches. Those would be the lone setbacks however, as the Eagles ended the weekend with another 6-1 win against USC Upstate. The match was scheduled to begin Saturday night, but after rain began to fall heavily following doubles, match officials suspended the match. When play resumed Sunday morning, the Spartans played with a renewed confidence but the Eagles held off the visitors for their 16th straight A-Sun win and their 13th consecutive win at home.

SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
Last season's runners-up in both the regular season and conference tournament, the Ospreys struggled out of the gate but have since won five of the last six matches to bring their record to 8-10 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Fighting injuries, the Ospreys lost the A-Sun opener to USC Upstate 4-3 only to bounce back with wins over Lipscomb, Kennesaw State and NJIT to sit in third place in the A-Sun. Jack Findel-Hawkins occupies the top spot in the Osprey lineup as well as the No. 123 position in the latest ITA singles rankings. Findel-Hawkins was previously slotted at No. 100 but with a 5-5 record over his last 10 matches, he is looking to rediscover his form. He's currently 6-5 from the No. 1 spot including a 2-1 mark in the A-Sun to lead UNF.

Lasse Mucheites has been unbeatable at No. 2, posting a perfect 7-0 record. The struggles for UNF begin at No. 3 though. From No. 3 to No. 5, the Ospreys are 19-30.
Findel-Hawkins teams with Yannick Zuern, occupying the No. 20 position in the ITA doubles rankings. The duo has only featured three times in dual action, tallying two wins. Jonathan Deautriell and Sahil Deshmukh have been the most successful No. 3 pairing, posting a 5-3 mark.

UNF and FGCU met once prior to FGCU moving to Division I, with UNF winning 8-1. Since then, the Ospreys have continued to hold the upper hand until the 2014-15 season. The Eagles won the first meeting in 2008, 4-3, but dropped eight-straight including a pair of A-Sun Championship meetings. The Eagles flipped the script last season, winning 7-0 at home before securing their first NCAA Tournament appearance with a 4-3 win in the tournament championship match.  

SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Saturday's match against Stetson could determine the 2016 A-Sun regular season champions as both Stetson and FGCU enter with 4-0 records. At 11-8 overall, the Hatters lineup has been fairly consistent during singles play. Loic Blanco has played every match from No. 1, posting an 11-5 record this season, the most dual wins of any Hatter. Pierre Fossier brings a 5-8 record into Saturday at No. 2 while Graham Ball is 8-4 from the No. 4 position.

In doubles, Stetson is led by Laurynas Antropikas and Blanco, who have posted a 4-7 record in doubles this season at No. 1. Gonzalo Arroyo and Ball are 5-5 from the No. 3 position.

Similar to UNF, the Eagles have recently started to come back in the all-time series after the Hatters won the first six matches. FGCU has won three-straight including a 4-2 win in the A-Sun Championships last season.

UP NEXT
The Eagles will have a week off before heading to Spartanburg, S.C. for the A-Sun Championships. Pending this week's results, the Eagles will either be carrying the No. 1 overall seed, or waiting to see whether UNF or Stetson come away victorious when those two teams meet next week. The A-Sun Championships are scheduled to begin April 22 with the championship match April 24.

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 16 A-Sun All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his fifth year, Weber has compiled a 62-41 (.598) overall record and a 24-11 (.676) 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.