FORT MYERS, Fla. – After coming up just short in both the regular season and tournament championships a year ago, FGCU (14-4, 6-0 ASUN) exacted revenge on UNF (13-8, 5-1 ASUN) as the Eagles defeated the Ospreys, 4-3, and claimed the first ASUN Championship in program history Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

In a singles match that lasted just over three hours, sophomore Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) put the finishing touches on the conference crown as she prevailed against UNF's Quetzali Vazquez in the decisive third set in #4 singles. After losing the opening frame in a tiebreak, Falceto Font battled back to win the next two sets, 6-4. Leading 5-4 in the third set, the Zaragoza native battled back from a 40-15 deficit to even the score at 40-40 and claim the match when Vazquez's return went into the net.

FGCU and UNF had squared off on 12 previous occasions, including the last two tournament championships, and the Eagles had never won a match against the Ospreys until Saturday afternoon. FGCU's win not only snapped UNF's streak of three straight regular season championships, but was also the Osprey's first conference loss since Mar. 22, 2013 – a span of 30 matches. Additionally, the win marked the 50th of reining ASUN Co-Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon.

"The girls did amazing today," Vernon said. "They showed a lot of fight, they showed a lot of heart, and they were able to get the job done in the big moments. It was just really exciting. UNF fought until the last point, and we prepared for that kind of fight so the girls were ready to take the match today because that's what they had to do. Next weekend will be another great opportunity and test for our girls, and we're looking forward to that."

FGCU got out to an early lead in doubles play behind a strong, come-from-behind win from Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) on court two. Trailing, 3-4, the FGCU duo fought back against UNF's Rafaela Gomez and Lucia Montano to win four of the next five games and not only take the set, 7-5, but also lead the Green and Blue to an early advantage.

Prior to the dramatic third match, the Eagles and Ospreys had split the matches on courts one and three. FGCU's top tandem of Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) notched their 10th win of the season with a 6-4 win against Luise Intert and Vazquez, but UNF evened it up at one match apiece with a win by the same margin on court three. The Eagles' freshman tandem of Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and Bridget Forster (Florida Virtual School) battled admirably against Michelle Valdez and Kinga Gartner, who had only dropped one match all season, but ultimately came up short.

The Eagles kept the momentum with back-to-back straight-set wins to start singles play. Following her Senior Day ceremony, Stampfli was impressive against her UNF counterpart as she defeated Gomez in a hard-fought first set, 6-4, before cruising to a quick 6-1 win in the second frame. Shortly after, after battling to a 7-2 win in a first-set tiebreak, Ascúa gave the Green and Blue a 3-0 lead as she blanked UNF's Irina Karangozishvili in the second set.

However, UNF wouldn't let FGCU claim its first conference title in program history easily as the Ospreys won back-to-back matches to climb within a 3-2 margin. Facing a pair of FGCU freshmen who have been very impressive in their debut seasons, UNF's Gartner and Intert ultimately came out on top on courts six and five, respectively. The first won her match against Forster on court six with back-to-back sets of 6-4, before the latter defeated Kelly, who battled cramps during the final points of the match, by scores of 6-4 and 6-2.

The remaining two matches went to a decisive third set, and FGCU and UNF showed why they have been the top two teams in the conference over the past few seasons. As Ornberg and Valdez battled back-and-forth on court four, so did Falceto Font and Vazquez on the next court over. Ornberg was a point away from claiming the match in straight sets in the #1 position but came up just short of doing so as her counterpart forced a third and final frame in a tiebreak. As Ornberg dug herself out of a 4-0 deficit to force another tiebreak in the third set, Falceto Font was able to finish off the match in the aforementioned fashion.

RESULTS VS. UNF
Doubles
#1: Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU) def. Intert/Vazquez (UNF): 6-4
#2: Stampfli/Ornberg (FGCU) def. Gomez/Montano (UNF): 7-5
#3: Valdez/Gartner (UNF) def. Kelly/Forster (FGCU): 6-4

Singles
#1: Valdez (UNF) def. Ornberg (FGCU): 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Gomez (UNF): 6-4, 6-1
#3: Ascúa (FGCU) def. Karangozishvili (UNF): 7-6 (2), 6-0
#4: Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Vazquez (UNF): 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4
#5: Intert (UNF) def. Kelly (FGCU): 6-4, 6-2
#6: Gartner (UNF) def. Forster (FGCU): 6-4, 6-4
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2)

UP NEXT
FGCU will host the ASUN Tennis Championships at the FGCU Tennis Complex next Friday through Sunday. As the #1 seed, the Eagles will advance to Saturday's semifinal and play the winner of #4 Stetson and either Kennesaw State or Lipscomb at 12 p.m. Sunday's championship match is scheduled for 10 a.m.

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 50-33 overall record (.602) and 21-5 conference record (.808) 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.