DELAND, Fla. – Coming off a five-match homestand, the FGCU women's tennis team (8-4) starts ASUN play on the road as the Eagles travel north to take on Stetson (3-10) Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.
 
Live stats for Thursday's match held in DeLand, Fla., will be available on Stat Broadcast.
 
MATCH HISTORY
Stetson holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series with FGCU, but the Eagles have gotten the best of the Hatters in four of the last five matches. FGCU capped off the 2016 regular season with a 6-1 win against Stetson at the FGCU Tennis Complex and turned around the following week to defeat the Hatters, 4-1, in the ASUN Championship Semifinals. It was the second straight year the Eagles ended the Hatters' season in the conference semifinals.
 
SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson has posted a 3-10 record this season but is coming off a pair of wins against UAB (4-2) and Bethune-Cookman (5-2). While taking on a daunting schedule with matches against UCF, USF and FIU, among others, the Hatters' other win this season came against Oakland (7-0).
 
In singles play, Stetson has posted a 27-39 overall record in dual matches and are led by Lucie Renault's 7-5 mark while playing anywhere from #2 singles to #4 singles. Renault, who is riding a two-match win streak, is the lone Hatter with a winning record in singles play to this point in the season.
 
In doubles action, the Hatters have gone 10-22 and are led by the 5-5 mark turned in from Renault and Sofia Ferding, who have won two straight matches. Stetson's duo of Arijana Korac and Maja Salibasic have spent the majority of the season in the #1 position.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles hosted five matches in an 11-day span and turned in a 4-1 record during the homestand. FGCU began the homestand with three straight wins against defending Big East Champion Xavier (6-1), Troy (4-1) and Georgia Southern (7-0). The team then dropped its first home match since Mar. 14, 2016 at the hands of #18 Duke (1-6) but responded to cap off the homestand with a shutout win against George Washington (7-0).
 
ASUN SUCCESS
In three full season under head coach Courtney Vernon, FGCU has reached new heights in conference play as the Eagles are 15-5 against ASUN opponents and have advanced to two straight ASUN Championship Finals.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
FGCU has dropped a trio of tough road matches against FSU, UCF and FIU – all of which currently appear or have appeared in the ITA top-50 at one point this season. However, the Eagles are 8-1 in neutral and home matches this season, highlighted by the Eagles first win against USF in program history to begin the dual season and the team's recent 4-1 homestand.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
FGCU continues to build upon an already single-season record with four ASUN Women's Tennis Player of the Week awards. Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) was the first to earn the recognition after securing the matching-clinching win against USF to start the dual season, marking the second time in her career she received the weekly award. Two weeks later, Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) took home the award for the first time in her career after clinching FGCU's comeback against Southern Miss. Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) then earned the honor after going 4-0 in singles and doubles action in a pair of wins for the Eagles and securing FGCU's fourth straight win against FAU. Most recently, Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) took home the honor for the second time in her career after going 3-0 in singles and doubles action to start the recent five-match homestand.
 
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 44-33 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.