NEWARK, N.J. – A come from behind victory came up short for the FGCU men's tennis team Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (6-10, 2-2 ASUN) suffered a 4-3 loss to NJIT (7-9, 1-2) on the road in difficult conditions.

"It was a really tough day for us," said head coach CJ Weber. "Credit to NJIT for playing well. We weren't at our best today. We have to turn our attention to next weekend and focusing on the things we can control."

The frustration began early for FGCU, as the Eagles dropped the doubles point with losses at No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 3 pairing of Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) secured the lone win, defeating Richard Rangga and Pablo Arrutia 6-1.

The deficit became 2-0 after Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) fell to Jan Cimrman 6-4, 6-4 but FGCU came back almost immediately with a Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) win at No. 1, 7-6, 6-1.

As Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) and Fernandez took to the courts, Ruiz lost at No. 3 to Lukas Zvikas 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to put FGCU on the brink.

Needing wins on the remaining courts, Fernandez and Cerrini both claimed first set victories as Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) did the same at No. 4. The senior however dropped his second set in a tiebreaker and lost his third set, clinching the match for NJIT.

Cerrini and Fernandez both won their second sets, but it was not enough as FGCU fell 4-3.

UP NEXT
FGCU returns home for the final three matches of the year, beginning with a pair of ASUN contests. Thursday, Kennesaw State comes to Fort Myers before the conference slate concludes Saturday against Lipscomb.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Petrovic/Cimrman (NJIT) def. Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) 7-6 (7-1)
2) Rangga/Arrutia (NJIT) def. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-1
3) Ruiz/Fernandez (FGCU) def. Sandhu/Castagna (NJIT) 6-3
SINGLES
1) Ramirez (FGCU) def. Petrovic (NJIT) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2) Cimrman (NJIT) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
3) Zvikas (NJIT) def. Ruiz (FGCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4) Castagna (NJIT) def. Alfonzo (FGCU) 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3
5) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Rangga (NJIT) 6-1, 6-3
6) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Arrutia (NJIT) 3-6, 6-4, 10-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1), Singles (2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6)

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 70-53 (.600) overall record and a 28-13 (.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
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#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.