DELAND, Fla. – Trailing 1-0 after doubles, the FGCU men's tennis team claimed five singles wins to secure its 19th-straight regular season ASUN Conference win, defeating Stetson 5-2 Thursday night. The Eagles (5-8) ended a four-match losing streak with the win and halted Stetson's (10-4) seven-match winning streak.

"Today was a great team fight," said head coach CJ Weber. "This team has learned a lot so far this season and we were able to implement some important concepts today. We played with great energy and good grit."

Facing the only 10-win team in the ASUN entering conference play, the Eagles rebounded after dropping the doubles point to nearly sweep singles action and start conference action 1-0. The task was not easy, as the Hatters entered the week a combined 28-7 from the top-three positions, but a win at No. 6 singles helped FGCU capture the match.

After earning wins at No. 4 and No. 5, Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) picked up a vital win at No. 6 opposite Coilin MacNamara, coming back from 0-5 down in the second set to win in a tiebreaker 7-6 and put the Eagles in a commanding 3-1 lead.

"This was basically Austin's first dual match in nearly two years and man he made it suspenseful," Weber added. "Winning a set after being down 5-0 is a memorable moment. I think it's only the second time I've seen it in my time at FGCU."

Minutes later Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State), who dropped his first set 6-3, stormed back to complete the comeback for FGCU with a 6-4 win in his third set over Angus Bradshaw.

"I'm really happy and proud of Mateo for clinching his first-ever conference match," Weber continued. "What a fight that was, especially after losing his first set by such a large margin."

Those wins followed straight-set victories from Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively to give FGCU a 2-1 advantage early in singles play.

Following the dramatic win from Bates and the clinching point from Ruiz, Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) secured a three-set win over Graham Ball, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 2.

Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) pushed Loic Blanco to a third set with a 6-3 win in the second set and led 5-4 in the final set, but fell 7-5.

The Hatters earned the doubles point following wins from the bottom two positions. Landert and Ramirez evened up the doubles portion of the match with a 6-3 victory at No. 1, but Stetson prevailed at No. 3 to clinch the point.

UP NEXT
The Eagles return home for a crucial meeting with UNF Saturday. FGCU, the 2016 regular season champions, and UNF, the 2016 tournament champions, are scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at The Nest. FGCU and UNF also met in the 2015 ASUN Tournament final, which saw the Green and Blue make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1) Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) def. Blanco/Decoste (SU) 6-3
2) Bradshaw/Shkrob (SU) def. Ruiz/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-3
3) MacNamara/Horoz Garner (SU) def. Bates/Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-4
Singles
1) Blanco (SU) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-1, 3-6, 5-7
2) Ramirez (FGCU) def. Ball (SU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3) Ruiz (FGCU) def. Bradshaw (SU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
4) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Shkrob (SU) 6-1, 6-4
5) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Fossier (SU) 6-2
6) Bates (FGCU) def. MacNamara (SU) 6-4, 7-6
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3), Singles (4, 5, 6, 3, 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 69-51 (.600) overall record and a 27-11 (.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.