FORT MYERS, Fla. – Facing a Top 50 program to end an injury-riddled season the FGCU men's tennis team showed its mettle Saturday night in the regular season finale. The Eagles (7-12) pushed four of the six singles matches to three sets and claimed two, but it was not enough as FGCU fell to #34 Memphis (14-6) by a 4-2 scoreline.

"If we play like this next weekend we'll be fine," said head coach CJ Weber. "Hats off to Memphis for closing it out but I was happy for how the guys fought today on Andy and Sam's Senior Day. We're really looking forward to hosting the ASUN Championships next weekend and I'm expecting absolutely massive crowds. Come out and show our conference what Southwest Florida is made of."

A slow start put the Eagles behind 1-0 after doubles and down a set on five of the six singles courts but the Green and Blue began laying the foundation for a comeback in the second set.

Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) dropped difficult decisions at No. 3 and No. 5 respectively, pushing the Memphis lead to 3-0, but FGCU took over from there. The match began to turn in the Eagles' favor when Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) bounced back to win the final two sets of his match 6-3, 6-2 and put FGCU on the board.

With three matches remaining, Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) earned his second victory over a ranked opponent in as many matches. This time, the freshman overcame a 6-4 loss in the first set to take the next two 6-4, 6-1 over #79 Ryan Peniston.

Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) nearly replicated Ramirez's result against #105 Andrew Watson, turning a 6-0 loss in the first set to a 6-3 win in the second. The sophomore fell behind 4-1 in the third set as Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) took a 3-2 lead at No. 6 in his third set. Ruiz fought back, cutting the score to 4-3 only to fall 6-3 with Fernandez also trailing 5-4.

UP NEXT
FGCU secured the No. 4 in the upcoming ASUN Championships, hosted by the Eagles. As the No. 4 seed, FGCU will meet No. 5 USC Upstate Friday at 5 p.m.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) vs. Lemke/Watson (Memphis) 5-4 DNF
2) Rauch/Peninston (Memphis) def. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-3
3) Story/Pallares (Memphis) def. Ruiz/Fernandez (FGCU) 6-0
SINGLES
1) Ramirez (FGCU) def. #79 Peniston (Memphis) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
2) #105 Watson (Memphis) def. Ruiz (FGCU) 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
3) Lemke (Memphis) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-0, 6-1
4) Cerrini (FGCU) def. Patzanovsky (Memphis) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
5) Pallares (Memphis) def. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
6) Fernandez (FGCU) vs. Rauch (Memphis) 6-4, 2-6, 4-5 DNF
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2), Singles (3, 5, 4, 1, 2)

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 71-55 (.600) overall record and a 29-14 (.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.