FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team bounced back from its first home loss since 2015 Friday night, outlasting Charlotte 4-3. The Eagles (3-2) won the doubles point and three of the first four singles matches in a lengthy match against the 49ers (5-4).

"That was an incredible match," said head coach CJ Weber. "Charlotte put up a huge fight and came from behind on several courts. I was pleased with doubles today, and the overall energy of the match. Mateo (Ruiz) had a huge clinch for us in a moment where it felt the match could have gone either way. And Felipe (Ramirez) is playing some great tennis, disciplined tennis. I'm really happy for him and his strong start."

FGCU started the match strong, leading 3-0 on two of the three doubles courts. As one of the courts to take a commanding lead, the No. 2 duo of Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) had to fight off a Charlotte rally. The 49er pairing of Max Benaim and Constandinos Christoforou closed the gap to 4-3 but the Eagle duo closed out the match with a 6-3 victory on Court Two.

The top-duo of Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) had fallen behind early in the contest, but came back to tie the match at 4-4. Lander and Ramirez later secured the doubles point for FGCU with a 6-4 win over Sam Rice and Leonardo Menezes.

The Eagles prevailed in a lengthy singles portion to claim the 4-3 win. Sam Chaffin (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) fell at No. 6 to Max Benaim 6-3, 6-0, tying the match for a brief period. Ramirez however would put the Green and Blue back in front with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Menezes at No. 3.

Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB), after dropping his first set 6-2, stormed back to win an emotional second and third set by 6-2 tallies. The win at No. 4 for FGCU allowed Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) to seal the win, defeating Oriol Puig Forne 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 5.

Landert and Alfonzo remained on the courts at the top two positions and both would feature in three-set matches. Alfonzo, after winning his first set in a tiebreak, would force a second set tiebreaker but Christoforou emerged victorious. In the third set, the 49er outlasted Alfonzo 10-5.

Landert faced a similar task at No. 1. The junior took his first set in a tiebreak but the 49er took the next two sets 6-4, 6-4 to secure the win.

UP NEXT
FGCU wraps up a four-match homestand tomorrow at 6 p.m. against Tennessee Tech.

FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1) Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) def. Rice/Menezes (UNCC) 6-4
2) Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) def. Benaim/Chistoforou (UNCC) 6-3
3) Fernandez/Ruiz (FGCU) vs. Puig Forne/Garcia Moreno (UNCC) DNF
Singles
1) Rice (UNCC) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
2) Christforou (UNCC) def. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-7, 7-6, 10-5
3) Ramirez (FGCU) def. Menezes (UNCC) 6-0, 6-4
4) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Garcia Moreno (UNCC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
5) Ruiz (FGCU) def. Puig Forne (UNCC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6) Benaim (UNCC) def. Chaffin (FGCU) 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1), Singles (6, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1)

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 67-46 (.600) 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.