SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After opening the ASUN season with a win at Stetson, the FGCU women's tennis team (9-4, 1-0 ASUN) looks to keep its conference momentum going with a pair of road matches against USC Upstate (2-15, 0-2 ASUN) and NJIT (5-7, 2-0 ASUN) this week.
 
FGCU's match against USC Upstate, which was originally scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m., has been rescheduled for Wednesday at approximately 3:30 p.m. due to rain in the forecast for the following afternoon. After its match in Spartanburg, S.C., the Eagles will travel further north to take on the NJIT Highlanders in Newark, N.J., Saturday at 10 a.m.

MATCH HISTORY
USC Upstate holds a 4-5 advantage in the all-time series between the ASUN mainstays. However, FGCU has won each of the last three and four of the last five contests against the Spartans. A season ago, the Eagles hosted USC Upstate at the FGCU Tennis Complex and recorded a shutout win against the visiting Spartans.
 
This weekend's match marks the Eagles' second-ever meeting with the ASUN's newest member, NJIT. In the two teams' first-ever meeting last year, FGCU turned in one of its five shutout wins of the season against the Highlanders.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
USC Upstate enters Wednesday's match with a 2-15 overall record and 0-2 mark in ASUN play. The Spartans two wins of the season came on the road against Campbell and at home against UNC Greensboro. USC Upstate has dropped its first two conference matches against Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.
 
Filippa Ericson has been the Spartans most productive player in singles action as she has turned in a 7-9 dual match record while playing anywhere from #1 to #3 singles. However, Morgan Dodd has been the hottest player of late as she is currently riding a three-match win streak. Carol Sigaki and Vale Zarama form USC Upstate's top doubles tandem with a 6-6 record in dual matches this spring.
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT holds a 5-7 overall record this season and has started conference play a perfect 2-0. After dropping their first four matches of the spring, the Highlanders have responded to win five of their last eight matches, including win against ASUN foes Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. NJIT is also scheduled to play at Army prior to Saturday's match.
 
Natacha Minc has been the most successful singles player this season with a 7-4 record in dual matches. She has won each of her last two, while a trio of Highlanders in Mayar Eltony, Alba Rosas Garcia and Nathalie Habegger are each riding three-match win streaks. Eltony and Rafaella Sampaio are 4-4 out of the #1 doubles position, while Minc and Amanda Helminsky have won back-to-back matches to start conference play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU opened the ASUN season at Stetson and left DeLand, Fla., with a 6-1 victory last Thursday afternoon. The win marked the Eagles' fifth in their last six matches against the Hatters and their sixth straight win in the team's ASUN opener dating back to the 2012 spring season.
 
Due to the rain, the typical format beginning with doubles play was altered, and the two teams agreed to start the match with singles action. The Green and Blue started the match with a flurry as all six Eagles won their opening set by two or more points. From there, FGCU cruised to straight-set wins in five of six matches and quickly put away the Hatters.
 
With the match already decided, the two teams agreed to play out the match in doubles action, and FGCU again got the best of the Stetson by taking two of three matches from the Hatters, with the deciding third match coming down to a tiebreak.
 
ASUN SUCCESS
In four seasons under head coach Courtney Vernon, FGCU has reached new heights in conference play as the Eagles are 16-5 against ASUN opponents and have advanced to two straight ASUN Championship Finals. Dating back to the beginning of ASUN play a season ago, FGCU is 6-1 against conference opponents with its lone loss coming by a 4-3 margin at defending champion UNF.

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. Jospeh'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 45-33 overall record (.577) and 16-5 conference record (.762) 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.