FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (6-3) continued to play well at its familiar venue as the Eagles defeated Troy (3-10), 4-1, Friday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
With its second straight win to start the five-match homestand, FGCU improved to 6-3 on the season and is now 5-0 in matches contested at the FGCU Tennis Complex. Dating back to Mar. 16, 2016, the Green and Blue have won eight straight home matches.
"The girls continue to compete hard, especially at home." said FGCU head coach
Courtney Vernon. "They are confident and strong, and continue to learn how to trust their abilities more and more. I'm proud of the growth they are showing, and we're excited to get back out here Monday evening."
FGCU got off to a fast start in doubles play and never looked back as the Eagles won three of the first four singles matches in straight sets.
FGCU's #1 duo of
Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and
Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) won its second straight match and 14th of its last 17 matches dating back to last season with a 6-2 win against Sanae Ohta and Nancy Karaky on court one.
With the match on court three tied,
Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) and
Maja Ornberg (Kil Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) put the point away as the tandem cruised to a 6-1 win against the Trojans Alicia Rodriguez and Hannah Seizer on court two.
In singles play, Ascúa and Stampfli got the Green and Blue off and running as both defeated their Trojan counterparts in straight sets. Ascua took down Karay without surrendering a point in the first set before taking a hard-fought second frame, 7-5, in #3 singles. Shortly after, Stampfli got the Eagles to within a point of claiming the match by defeating Seizer 6-4, 6-1 in the #2 position.
After
Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) dropped her match to Efriliya Herlina in #5 singles,
Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) put things away with another straight set win in #4 singles. The FGCU sophomore never trailed in a 6-2 win during the first set. She was tested in the second frame but ultimately emerged victorious, 6-4.
The Eagles claimed the first set in both unfinished matches. Freshman
Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) trailed 5-2 in the opening frame on court six but responded with a flurry and claimed the final five games of the set to take it 7-5. She led 5-1 in the second set, but the match was called as Facleto Font won it for the Green and Blue. Ornberg won her opening set on court one by the same margin and trailed, 3-0, in the second frame.
RESULTS VS. TROY
Doubles
#1: Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU) def. Ohta/Karaky (TROY): 6-2
#2: Ornberg/Stampfli (FGCU) def. Rodriguez/Seizer (TROY): 6-1
#3: Forster/Kelly (FGCU) vs. Xue/Herlina (TROY): 4-4, unfinished
Singles
#1: Ornberg (FGCU) vs. Ohta (TROY): 7-5, 0-3, unfinished
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Seizer (TROY): 6-4, 6-1
#3: Ascúa (FGCU) def. Karaky (TROY): 6-0, 7-5
#4: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Xue (TROY): 6-2, 6-4
#5: Herlina (TROY) def. Kelly (FGCU): 6-4, 6-1
#6: Forster (FGCU) vs. Rodriguez (TROY): 7-5, 5-1, unfinished
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2); Singles (3, 2, 5, 4)
UP NEXT
FGCU continues its five-match homestand and faces Georgia Southern Monday, Mar. 13 at 5 p.m. The match will be the second in program history between the pair of Eagles as Georgia Southern previously emerged victorious, 5-1, during the 2010-11 season. This season, Georgia Southern is 9-2 and riding a four-match win streak with victories against UNC Greensboro, North Carolina A&T, Bethune-Cookman and Kennesaw State.
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 ASUN Freshman of the Year and 2016 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to a 42-32 overall record (.568) 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.
