SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Despite playing the match only hours after deboarding its plane, the FGCU women's tennis team (10-4, 2-0 ASUN) was able to get the job done with a 6-1 win against USC Upstate (2-16, 0-3 ASUN) Wednesday afternoon at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.

With the match rescheduled less than 24 hours out, the Eagles were supposed to land a day before their second ASUN match of the season. However, it turned out the match would be played a day in advance due to the weather forecast for Thursday afternoon.

Regardless of the adjustments, FGCU stuck with its gameplan and cruised to a 6-1 win against the Spartans, marking the team's fourth straight win against USC Upstate and its fifth in the last six meetings.

"We were challenged today and I was thankful to get the win," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "It was not easy, but the girls responded well. They continue to grow and get stronger. We look forward to heading to NJIT to compete again this weekend."

Playing with a couple of players out of today's match, Vernon was forced to shake up the Eagles usual doubles lineup. However, after splitting the first two matches, FGCU's duo of Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping), who usually play in the #2 position, sealed the cumulative point with a hard-fought win against the Spartans' Carol Sigaki and Vale Zarama in the top spot.

FGCU's freshman duo of Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) responded from its first loss of the season last week with a shutout win against Morgan Dodd and Anna Nemeth in #3 doubles. However, USC Upstate evened things up with as Filippa Ericson and Taylor Dodd defeated Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza), 6-2, in the #2 spot before Stampfli and Ornberg claimed the point.

In singles action, the Green and Blue maintained its momentum from taking the hard-fought doubles point and cruised to five straight-set wins against the homestanding Spartans.

Forster started things off with a 6-3, 6-1 win against T. Dodd in #5 singles before Ornberg quickly got the Eagles to within a point of claiming the match with a 6-3, 6-0 win against Ericson in the #1 position. The win was the second straight for Forester and third straight for Ornberg.

Minutes later, Curtis sealed the deal for the Green and Blue by defeating Eduarda Ferreira 6-3, 6-1 in #4 singles. It marked the first time this season the FGCU junior claimed a match for the Eagles.

With the match already decided, FGCU didn't take its foot off the gas as the Eagles earned two more straight set wins in #2 and #3 singles. Stampfli took down Sigaki 6-4, 6-3 before Falceto Font claimed a 6-3, 6-1 win against her USC Upstate counterpart Zarama. The wins were the team-best ninth of the season for both Stampfli and Falceto Font.

Seeing action for the first time in the dual season, Sofia Blanno (John's Creek, Ga./Auburn/K12 International Academy) fell in a hard-fought three-set match to M. Dodd. The FGCU newcomer responded from a first-set loss to take the second set, 6-4. However, she ultimately dropped a tough superset tiebreaker, 10-8, to end the afternoon.

RESULTS VS. USC UPSTATE
Doubles
#1: Stampfli/Ornberg (FGCU) def. Sigaki/Zarama (UPST): 6-4
#2: Ericson/T. Dodd (UPST) def. Curtis/Falceto Font (FGCU): 6-2
#3: Kelly/Forster (FGCU) def. M. Dodd/Nemeth (UPST): 6-0

Singles
#1: Ornberg (FGCU) def. Ericson (UPST): 6-3, 6-0
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Sigaki (UPST): 6-4, 6-3
#3: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Zarama (UPST): 6-3, 6-1
#4: Curtis (FGCU) def. Ferreira (UPST): 6-3, 6-1
#5: Forster (FGCU) def. T. Dodd (UPST): 6-3, 6-1
#6: M. Dodd (UPST) def. Blanno (FGCU): 6-1, 4-6, 10-8

Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (5, 1, 4, 2, 3, 6)

UP NEXT
FGCU travels further north for its final ASUN road match of the season at NJIT (5-8, 2-0 ASUN) Saturday at 10 a.m. The match will mark the Eagles first in Newark, N.J. and their second against the Highlanders.

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 46-33 overall record (.582) and 17-5 conference record (.773) in her three-plus 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.