JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With two regular-season matches remaining, the FGCU women's tennis team (10-7, 4-0 A-Sun) is tied for first in the A-Sun standings but will have to go through fellow first-place competitors UNF (9-5, 4-0 A-Sun) and Stetson (8-8, 4-0 A-Sun) in order to claim its first A-Sun Championship this weekend.
 
The Eagles travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to face the defending A-Sun Regular-Season and Tournament Champion Ospreys Thursday at 10 a.m. before returning to Fort Myers to host the Hatters for Senior Day Saturday at 5 p.m. when FGCU will honor senior captains Elizabeth Means (Washington, D.C./Wiregrass Ranch HS) and Alexandra Landert (Zurich, Switzerland/Seton Hall) prior to the match.
 
"The girls are focused and ready to compete this weekend," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "We have a great opportunity and challenge in front of us with matches against a couple of tough opponents. Elizabeth and Alex will be honored Saturday, and we want to show our appreciation for their achievements at FGCU."
 
SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
UNF enters Thursday's match with a 9-5 overall record and a perfect 4-0 mark in conference play. Like the Eagles, the Ospreys are currently riding a five-match win streak and have registered A-Sun wins against NJIT, USC Upstate, Lipscomb and Kennesaw State.
 
The two teams met in last year's A-Sun Championship, with UNF emerging victorious by a 4-1 margin, and the Ospreys hold a 10-0 advantage in the all-time series.
 
In singles play, UNF is 22-2 as a team since the A-Sun season started, led by a quintet of 4-0 marks in conference play. Noemi Hemmerich has played all 14 matches in the No. 1 position and has posted a 9-5 overall record this season.
 
In doubles competition, the Ospreys are 23-10 overall and 8-1 against conference foes. Hemmerich has paired with Quetzali Vazquez to win five consecutive matches and push their overall record to 6-2 this season.
 
SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson comes to Fort Myers with an 8-8 overall record and are also 4-0 in A-Sun play. The Hatters went on a four-match skid at the start of March, but have won five of their last six matches to get back to .500 on the season.
 
The Hatters are 8-3 in the all-time series with FGCU, but the Eagles have won two of the last three matches. After losing the regular-season finale to Stetson a year ago, FGCU responded a week later to win by a 4-1 margin in the A-Sun Championship Semifinal and advance to its first-ever A-Sun Final.
 
Stetson is 14-4 in singles competition since conference play began and is led by Eveline Lepinay, who is 13-2 in the top spot this season and leads the A-Sun in wins. Airjana Korac has played anywhere between No. 2 and No. 4 this season and is right on Lepinay's heels with 12 dual-match wins this season.
 
In doubles play, the Hatters have struggled a bit this season with an 18-23 overall record, but have begun to turn it around with a 5-2 mark in conference play. Lepinay has paired with Maja Salibasic to post a team-high seven wins this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU extended its season-long win streak to five matches with its third straight 7-0 shutout, this one coming against USC Upstate Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
With the win, the Green and Blue remained perfect in conference play, matching their 4-0 start from a season ago, and have now tallied the most wins in a regular season since going 13-6 during the 2013-14 regular season.
 
The Eagles swept double play with a 6-1 win to get things started in the No. 2 position before winning both remaining matches, 6-3, to claim the cumulative point. The Green and Blue then maintained the momentum in singles play as all six matches were decided in straight sets.
 
Five Eagles are currently riding match win streaks of five or more and three have tallied double-digit wins during the dual-match season.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Entering this weekend, Joselyn Treyes Albarracin (Guayaquil, Ecuador/InterAmerican Academy) leads the A-Sun in win percentage (.667) in the No. 2 position, while Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) tops the league in wins (nine) and win percentage (.900) of out of the No. 6 position.
 
Additionally, the FGCU duo of Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) are currently riding a five-match win streak while going 9-1 in their last 10 contest to lead with conference by five wins with an 11-2 overall record.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
FGCU has earned a pair of A-Sun Women's Tennis Player of the Week awards this season after Ascúa most recently took home the recognition Wednesday, March 30. The freshman went a perfect 4-0 in doubles and singles play to help the Green and Blue to a 2-0 start in conference play and was on a five-match win streak in singles play and three-match win streak in doubles play at the time.
 
Earlier this season, Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) received the recognition following her match-clinching performance in the program's first-ever win against in-state rival UCF. After dropping the first set with the dual match tied 3-3, Stampfli defeated UCF's Caroline Eberhart in the final two sets to ultimately claim FGCU's 4-3 win with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory in the No. 1 position.
 
UP NEXT
After wrapping up regular-season play this weekend, FGCU will take a weekend off from competition before traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., in search of its first A-Sun Championship from Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24.
 
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 second season under the helm saw the Eagles finish third in the conference standings with the program's first-ever appearance in the Atlantic Sun Championship Final. She has produced nine A-Sun All-Conference selections and the 2014 A-Sun Freshman of the Year. She has led the Green and Blue to a 34-27 overall record (.557) and 14-4 conference record (.778) in her two 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.