FORT MYERS, Fla. – Leading 1-0 after doubles the FGCU men's tennis team had a chance to upset the #29 South Alabama Jaguars but the visitors won four-straight singles matches to clinch the match. The Eagles (4-6) earned wins at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, and led on the remaining two courts against the Jaguars (17-3) but time ran out on the Green and Blue Tuesday night.
"We're getting closer," said head coach
CJ Weber. "Today was a great effort on all three courts in doubles and we played with a lot of energy. We did a great job winning that tight doubles point. In singles, we just didn't get it done. A few of the guys looked great, but we need everybody to be sharp if we want to beat these teams. We're looking forward to George Washington on Thursday. I want to encourage our fans to come out to that match, so we can feel your support."
It was an ideal start for the Green and Blue, who secured the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles over the #29 team in the country.
Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and
Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) took down Juan Cruz Soria and Loic Cloes 6-4 before
Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) and
Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) secured the point with a 6-3 win over Tuki Jacobs and Clement Marzol.
South Alabama quickly tied the match when Cloes defeated Cerrini at No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-1 and took the lead with a win at No. 5 when Pierre Noyon beat Fernandez 6-0, 6-4.
Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) battled Olivier Gingras at No. 3, only to fall 6-1, 6-2 to give the Jaguars a 3-1 lead.
Sam Chaffin (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) and Ramirez both forced third sets on their respective courts while Landert also found himself in a third set.
Landert earned a 6-3 win in his first set but fell 6-2 in the second against Cruz Soria and forced multiple lengthy points in the third before falling 6-1 to clinch the match.
Chaffin, after securing a 7-5 win in the second set, trailed 0-1 in his third set as the match finished. Meanwhile, Ramirez was on the verge of clinching a victory over a nationally-ranked Jacobs at No. 1, but Jacobs called for an injury timeout just before the match at No. 2 came to an end.
UP NEXT
The Eagles welcome George Washington Thursday for a 6 p.m. match.
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 67-50 (.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.
