FORT MYERS, Fla. – Stepping back on the courts for the first time in almost two weeks, the FGCU men's tennis team returns home for a five-match homestand beginning with contests opposite Xavier and ETSU.

The Eagles and Musketeers are slated for a 6 p.m. start Thursday evening at The Nest while FGCU and ETSU will meet at 4 p.m. Friday evening at the FGCU Tennis Complex.The match against the Buccaneers is also . The club who brings the most members will win a free exhibition from the tennis team.

Admission is free to all regular season home events at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
Trailing 3-0 at Miami, the Eagles won three consecutive matches to tie the match only for the Hurricanes to claim a 4-3 victory. The shorthanded Eagles received a victory from Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) at No. 4 and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) at No. 5 to give the Eagles some much needed momentum.

Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) then tied the match with a win at No. 3 however, a loss at No. 6 ended the match.

Ramirez is 3-0 this spring as an Eagle while Ruiz and Fernandez lead FGCU with four wins this spring.

PROTECTING THE NEST
While the Eagles have lost twice at home this season, their record over the previous three remains impressive. After posting a perfect 9-0 mark last year, FGCU is 18-3 at home since the 2015 season.

SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
Xavier comes to Fort Myers with a 2-8 record in 2017 and the Musketeers are led by Matt Bishop and Jeremy Schneider. While Bishop has had the most success of any Musketeer this spring, posting a 5-3 record at No. 2, Schneider has earned most of the action at No. 1 and brings a 3-5 record to Southwest Florida.

Bishop is also 6-3 in doubles matches this season while Gabriel Araujo is 4-4.

Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between the Eagles and Musketeers.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
ETSU enters the weekend with a 2-6 record including a 5-2 loss to Miami on March 3. David Biosca is 4-2 from the top position for the Buccaneers as one of only two positions above .500 on the year. The other comes at No. 3 where Robert Herrera is 7-1.

Herrera has teamed with Diego Nunez for seven doubles matches this spring, winning four contests. The Buccaneers however have not won a match at No. 3 doubles this dual season.  

FGCU is 0-7 all-time against ETSU but the two sides have not met since 2014.

UP NEXT
The Eagles remain at home for three matches, beginning with a contest against South Alabama March 14. Matches against George Washington (March 16) and UCF (19) follow.

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 66-48 (.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
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.