FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (4-1) continued its strong start to the 2017 campaign with a 5-2 win against cross-state rival FAU (3-2) Sunday morning at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

After dropping the doubles point, FGCU seized the early momentum from FAU and went on to win five of six singles matches to secure the win. Two of the Eagles' singles wins came in straight sets, while two more were won following an opening-set loss.

The win marks the Eagles third straight as the team continues its best start to a season since also beginning the 2006-07 season 4-1. Additionally, it marks FGCU's fourth straight win against FAU and its fifth in the last six meetings. The all-time record between the longstanding rivals in now even at 5-5.

"The girls are competing well," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "They are learning to trust the plan, and they are embracing adversity and recognizing the gift of the challenges. We're looking forward to getting back to work next week to prepare for UCF."

The Eagles and Owls battled it out in doubles play as the point came down to the final match on court three. Trailing 5-2, Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) battled back to cut the Owls' lead to one. However, FAU's tandem of Marisa Ruiz and Lyndsey Boos prevailed to win the match and the point, 6-4.

FGCU and FAU split the first two doubles matches with Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/ De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) securing a 6-3 win against Alisa Rudenko and Heather Walton on court two. Minutes later, Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) dropped their first match since Mar. 14 of last year as they suffered a 6-4 defeat to Laura Fabrizi and Ana Gutierrez on court one.

The Green and Blue seized FAU's early momentum in singles play as they won the first set in four of six matches. Kelly and Stampfli each won their second matches of the weekend with straight-set wins in #5 and #2 singles, respectively. Kelly jumped out to an early lead in the first set and held on to win the opening frame, 7-5, before cruising to a 6-2 win in the second set. Stampfli was in a back-and-forth battle with Gutierrez in the opening frame and emerged victorious, 7-5. She put her FAU counterpart away with a 6-4 win in the second set.

FAU then evened the match, 2-2, with a win in #3 singles. After Ascúa started the match with an impressive 6-1 win in the first frame, Boos was able to outlast her in the final two sets. Ascúa found herself in a 4-1 deficit but battled back to even the set, 5-5, before ultimately dropping the point.

After winning her first match as an Eagle Friday afternoon, Sophia Perez (Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) put the Green and Blue within a point of sealing the match as she responded from a first-set loss to defeat Rudenko 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ornberg then followed suit with a three-set win of her own to clinch the match. The Sweden native dropped a hard-fought opening set, 5-7, before cruising to a pair of 6-1 wins in the second and decisive third set.

With the match already decided, Falceto Font continued her strong play to start the season as she extended her dual match win streak to 14 with yet another three-set win against Bianca Biglione.

RESULTS VS. FAU
Doubles
#1: Fabrizi/Gutierrez (FAU) def. Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU): 6-4
#2: Ornberg/Stampfli (FGCU) def. Rudenko/Walton (FAU): 6-3
#3: Ruiz/Boos (FAU) def. Falceto Font/Kelly (FGCU): 6-4
 
Singles
#1: Ornberg (FGCU) def. Fabrizi (FAU): 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Gutierrez (FAU): 7-5, 6-4
#3: Boos (FAU) def. Ascúa (FGCU): 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
#4: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Biglione (FAU): 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
#5: Kelly (FGCU) def. Ruiz (FAU): 7-5, 6-2
#6: Perez (FGCU) def. Rudenko (FAU): 1-6, 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (5, 2, 3, 6, 1, 4)

UP NEXT
FGCU travels to Orlando, Fla., to take on in-state rival UCF Friday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. A year ago, the Eagles secured its first win in program history against the Knights, defeating them in dramatic fashion, 4-3.

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 40-30 overall record (.571) 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.