FORT MYERS, Fla. – Well into the early morning hours Sunday morning Javier Fernandez was hoisted onto the shoulders of his teammates after clinching FGCU's win over top-seeded UNF. Just over 10 hours from the originally scheduled start time, the No. 4 Eagles (9-12) booked their return to the ASUN Championship Final with a dramatic and emotional 4-3 victory over the Ospreys (14-7).

With the win and No. 6 Lipscomb's upset win over No. 2 Stetson, the Eagles and Bisons will play for the ASUN Tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament later today at 3:30 p.m.

"Words cannot describe what the guys did," said head coach CJ Weber. "It's been a really long season and we've dealt with so much adversity. The way we played today, is this team's potential and this is what we have been fighting for all year long. We have not been able to do it all season until today and it was just a commitment from every single one of the guys; I could not ask for anything more. UNF played an amazing match; I gained even more respect for them today. They competed like crazy and today was our absolute best and we barely won. Hats off to them on a great year and we look forward to many more tight matches with them in the future."

Rain delayed the match from its originally scheduled start time of 5 p.m. to 11:45 p.m., when three courts were deemed playable to begin doubles. Three hours later, Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) fought back from 3-0 down in the third set, winning six consecutive games to tie the overall match at 3-3 with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles over Sahil Deshmukh.

At that moment, FGCU fans and players knew it was only a matter of time. Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) had built a 5-1 lead at that point and at approximately 3:15 in the morning, the sophomore fell to the floor in celebration as Jonathan Deautriell's forehand went long and his teammates rushed to pile on top of him.

The early morning dramatics were set up by some late night drama. In doubles, the Eagles claimed the first match against their rivals thanks to Fernandez and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) pulling away late against Deautriell and Deshmukh 6-2.

After Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) dropped a match at No. 1 doubles to the #46 pairing in the country of Jack Findel-Hawkins and Jefta Kecic 6-4, all eyes turned to Court Two.

Alfonzo and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) trailed 4-3 at one point, but fought back, sending the match to a tiebreaker. The pairing had gone in front 4-1 in the tiebreak, before UNF brought it back to 5-4. Alfonzo, however, gave FGCU match point after breaking serve, followed by Cerrini forcing an Osprey error to clinch the doubles point.

Ruiz then got singles play started for the Eagles with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over #123 Kecic at No. 2 singles, putting FGCU in front 2-0 in the match.

Lengthy matches ensued as other courts were continuously being worked on, including those matches on Courts One and Three. Both Ramirez and Landert had battled back from first set losses to force a third set, but both dropped the third sets to bring the Ospreys level.  Ramirez, the ASUN Freshman of the Year, fell 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to #66 Findel-Hawkins, the two-time Player of the Year, while Landert suffered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 defeat to Yannick Zuern.

Because of the wet conditions Cerrini, Alfonzo, and Fernandez were unable to start their matches at the same time as the top-three singles. With everything even through four matches, Cerrini was the next to finish, falling 7-6, 6-3 to Lasse Muscheites on the court next to Alfonzo to put the Ospreys ahead 3-2.

It was at this time Alfonzo, who trailed 3-0 in his third set began his comeback. The senior ultimately won six-straight games and minutes later, joined his teammates in celebration when Fernandez clinched the match.

The Eagles will now play for their second ASUN Tournament and NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons against Lipscomb at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) #46 Findel-Hawkins/Kecic (UNF) def. Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) 6-4
2) Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) def. Muscheites/Zuern (UNF) 7-6 (4)
3) Ruiz/Fernandez (FGCU) def. Deautriell/Deshmukh (UNF) 6-2
SINGLES
1) #66 Findel-Hawkins (UNF) def. Ramirez (FGCU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
2) Ruiz (FGCU) def. #123 Kecic (UNF) 6-0, 6-2
3) Zuern (UNF) def. Landert (FGCU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
4) Muscheites (UNF) def. Cerrini (FGCU) 7-6 (5), 6-3
5) Alfonzo (FGCU) def. Deshmukh (UNF) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
6) Fernandez (FGCU) def. Deautreill (UNF) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2), Singles (2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)

CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by CJ Weber who has coached 26 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his fifth year, Weber has compiled a 73-55 (.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.
 
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