TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The first dual match of the spring season was always going to be a difficult task for the FGCU men's tennis team, who went up against Florida State Friday afternoon. The Eagles fell 7-0 to the Seminoles to open the season 0-1. Florida State meanwhile improved to 3-1 on the year.

The match, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., was delayed due to weather before moving moved indoors.

"FSU played a great match today," said head coach CJ Weber. "I felt like they did a better job at being the aggressors, and playing indoors, is important. Right now, I don't think this team is playing to its potential, but we will continue to work hard to improve. This is a good team, we just can't dwell on the start we've had so far. Tomorrow we have FAMU, and that is where our attention shifts."

The No. 2 pairing of Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) continued to be a bright spot for the Eagles in doubles play. The duo led the Florida State team of Lucas Poullain and Jose Gracia throughout their match, however they would be unable to close out the win.

On Court 3, Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) fell behind Alex Knaff and Terrance Whitehurst early and were unable to erase the deficit, falling 6-2. Meanwhile, Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) stayed with the top pairing of Guy Iradukunda and Aziz Dougaz, keeping the Seminoles within a game. It was not until 4-3 that Florida State pulled away to secure a 6-3 win and the doubles point.

Florida State secured the match with three singles wins on Courts 1, 4, and 6. Alfonzo lost 6-1, 6-0 to #59 Iradukunda, Fernandez fell 6-3, 6-2 to Gracia at No. 4 and Bates dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Rana Roop Bhullar at No. 6.

Despite the loss, FGCU continued to show strong performances on the three remaining courts. Ruiz, who dropped his first set 6-0, stormed back to force a third set opposite Whitehurst at No. 5 with a 6-3 second set. Ruiz immediately took a 1-0 lead in the third set but fell behind after dropping the next two sets. With the set at 6-5 in favor of Whitehurst, Ruiz forced a third set tiebreak, but fell in the tiebreak.

Cerrini and Landert nearly accomplished the same feat on their respective courts but both dropped a second set tiebreaker. Cerrini, facing #71 Dougaz, dropped the first set 6-4 and came from behind to lead 6-5 in the second. Dougaz however forced a tiebreaker and came away with a 7-6 second set win. Landert meanwhile suffered a 6-3 loss in his first set to Poullain and led 6-5 in the second set. Similar to Cerrini, Landert was unable to win the tiebreaker, falling 7-6 in the second set.

UP NEXT
FGCU will not have to wait long to get back on the courts. The Eagles face the Rattlers of Florida A&M tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Tallahassee.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Iradukunda/Dougaz (FSU) def. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-3
2) Landert/Ruiz (FGCU) vs. Poullain/Gracia (FSU), 5-3 (unfinished)
3) Knaff/Whitehurst (FSU) def. Bates/Fernandez (FGCU) 6-2
SINGLES
1) #59 Iradukunda (FSU) def. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-1, 6-0
2) #71 Dougaz (FSU) def. Cerrini (FGCU) 6-3, 7-6
3) Poullain (FSU) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-4, 7-6
4) Gracia (FSU) def. Fernandez (FGCU) 6-3, 6-2
5) Whitehurst (FSU) def. Ruiz (FGCU) 6-0, 3-6, 7-6
6) Roop Bhullar (FSU) def. Bates (FGCU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1), Singles (1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 5)

CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by CJ Weber who has coached 23 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his fifth year, Weber has compiled a 64-43 (.598) overall record and a 26-11 (.694) record in ASUN 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. The Eagles completed consecutive perfect ASUN seasons in 2016 and back-to-back conference titles as well as a second-straight Coach of the Year honor for Weber.
 
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.
 
#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.