FORT MYERS, Fla. –  The FGCU women's tennis team (1-0) opened its dual season in historic fashion as the Eagles claimed a 5-2 win against USF (0-1) Tuesday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex, marking the first time in program history the Green and Blue have defeated the Bulls.

FGCU and USF had met on six separate occasions since 2005 entering today, and the Bulls had emerged victorious in all six matches with four coming in shutout fashion. However, Tuesday was a different story as the Green and Blue led from start to finish against a USF team that returns nine members from last year's squad, which was ranked #61 in the nation at the end of the season.

Senior captain Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) clinched the match for the Eagles with a hard-fought win against USF's Nicole Dzenga in #2 singles. The 2016 ASUN First-Teamer took the first set after winning the tiebreak, 7-1, and also battled with Dzenga to a second-set tiebreak. The two seemingly traded points for the first 12 serves and were knotted, 6-6, before Stampfli won the final two points and clinched the match for the Eagles.

"The girls were very focused this afternoon, and I'm proud of the way they stepped up and showed courage," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "They trusted themselves, enjoyed the moment and were able to make program history. We're looking forward to getting back to work Thursday in preparationg for FSU next weekend."

Doubles action kicked off what turned out to be a historic day at the FGCU Tennis Complex, and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) were able to make quick work of their USF counterparts as they cruised to a 6-2 win against Olga Martinez and Hailey Grillo in the #3 position.

With FGCU holding the early advantage, Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) saw a 5-2 lead evaporate as USF's duo of Jessica Cortes Chaves and Juliana Cardoso forced a tiebreak on court one. However, the Green and Blue tandem dug deep and pulled out a 7-2 win in the tiebreak to not only clinch the doubles point, but also win their 10th straight doubles dual match dating back to last season.

Playing simultaneously on court two, Stampfli and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) battled with Ana Roman Dominguez and Dzenga in a tiebreak after coming back from a 5-4 deficit. With the doubles point already decided, the Bulls duo outlasted FGCU by taking the tiebreak, 7-4.

In singles action, Falceto Font was nearly untouchable in her match in the #6 position as she defeated Hailey Grillo, 6-1, in back-to-back sets. Ascúa then brought the Eagles to within a point of clinching the match as she took care of Olga Martinez in straight sets in #3 singles. The second of FGCU's two 2016 ASUN First-Teamers won a hard-fought first set, 6-4, before cruising to a 6-1 win in set two.

Juliana Cardoso got USF on the board with a win over Kelly in the #5 position, before Stampfli put the Bulls to bed in the aforementioned two-set thriller.

FGCU and USF split the remaining two matches as Ornberg fell to Roman Dominguez in #1 singles and Curtis responded from a first-set loss to defeat Vera Bessonova in the #4 position. Ornberg was able to pull out a first-set thriller against the Bulls' top player as she trailed 6-2 in a tiebreak before rattling off the next six points to jump out to a one-set lead. However, Roman Dominguez responded to win the second set, 6-3, before taking the super-set tiebreaker, 10-8. After falling, 6-4, in the opening frame, Curtis responded in a big way and downed Bessonova by winning the final two sets, 6-4 and 6-2.

RESULTS VS. USF
Doubles
#1: Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU) def. Cortes Chaves/Cardoso (USF): 7-6 (7-2)
#2: Roman Dominguez/Dzenga (USF) def. Ornberg/Stampfli (FGCU): 7-6 (7-4)
#3: Falceto Font/Kelly (FGCU) def. Grillo/Martinez (USF): 6-2
 
Singles
#1: Roman Dominguez (USF) def. Ornberg (FGCU): 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 10-8
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Dzenga (USF): 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (8-6)
#3: Ascúa (FGCU) def. Martinez (USF): 6-4, 6-1
#4: Curtis (FGCU) def. Bessonova (USF): 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
#5: Cardoso (USF) def. Kelly (FGCU): 6-3, 6-4
#6: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Grillo (USF); 6-1, 6-1
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (6, 3, 5, 2, 1, 4)

UP NEXT
FGCU hits the road for a pair of dual matches next weekend. The Eagles are scheduled to take on in-state foe FSU Friday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. in Tallahassee before squaring off with Southern Miss in a neutral-site match in Tampa the following day.

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 reining ASUN Co-Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon, whose third season under the helm saw the Eagles finish in a program-best second place in the regular season conference standings and advance to their second consecutive Atlantic Sun Championship Final. She has mentored her student-athletes into earning a total of 29 ASUN All-Conference honors, 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 37-29 overall record (.561) 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.