FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a promising start to the match, the FGCU men's tennis team fell 6-1 to in-state rivals #48 UCF Sunday afternoon. The Eagles (4-8) claimed the doubles point, only for the Knights (10-5) to come back and sweep singles.

"We still haven't figured out how to piece together a full match," said head coach CJ Weber. "UCF did a great job of responding in singles and we couldn't quite neutralize. Our focus now turns to conference and it's time to get ready for our Stetson and UNF, perhaps our two biggest matches."

After splitting the first two doubles matches on Courts One and Two, the pairing of Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) and Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) came from 1-5 down to claim a 7-5 victory over Enrique Payne and Chris Barrus at No. 3.

With momentum riding high, the Eagles appeared to be in good position heading into singles but the visiting Knights claimed the first set on all six courts en route to a sweep of singles play. Sam Chaffin (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) lost a 6-2, 6-0 match at No. 6, followed by an Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) loss at No. 2.

Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) dropped a 7-5, 6-4 decision at No. 4 while Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) fell 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3. Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTIEB) forced a third set, winning his second 6-2, but fell in the final 6-4. Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) lost his match at No. 4 6-3, 7-5.

UP NEXT
The back-to-back ASUN champions look to regroup, first with a road match against Stetson before welcoming UNF to The Nest to open ASUN play.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) def. Richmond/Porter (UCF) 6-1
2) Lovett/Kerzerman (UCF) def. Cerrini/Ruiz (FGCU) 6-3
3) Bates/Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Paya/Barrus (UCF) 7-5
SINGLES
1) Lovett (UCF) def. Ramirez (FGCU) 7-5, 6-4
2) Richmond (UCF) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
3) Kerzerman (UCF) def. Ruiz (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
4) Barrus (UCF) def. Cerrini (FGCU) 6-3, 7-5
5) Porter (UCF) def. Fernandez (FGCU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6) Boyd (UCF) def. Chaffin (FGCU) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3), Singles (6, 2, 1, 3, 4, 5)

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 68-51 (.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
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