FORT MYERS, Fla. – After getting out to a 3-0 lead, the top-seeded FGCU women's tennis team (15-5, 6-0 ASUN) couldn't secure the illusive final point as No. 2 UNF (15-8, 5-1 ASUN) tallied the last four points of the match and defeated the Eagles, 4-3, in the ASUN Championship at the FGCU Tennis Complex Sunday afternoon.

The match, which was originally scheduled to be played at 10 a.m. and was bumped up to 9 a.m. after a late-night decision Saturday, ultimately didn't get underway until 1 p.m. due to rain in the area Sunday morning. The humidity rolled in following the rain and affected the play on the courts as an individual from both FGCU and UNF was noticeably battling cramps in their respective matches.

Leading 3-2, FGCU was two games from clinching its first ASUN Tournament Championship in program history and advancing to next month's NCAA Championship. However, freshman Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School), who had battled back from a first-set loss and led 4-2 in the decisive third frame, was forced to retire due to injury, which gave the match to her UNF counterpart, Luise Intert. Moments later, Michelle Valdez outlasted Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) in a three-set match on court one to claim the championship for the Ospreys.

After defeating UNF and claiming its first ASUN Regular Season Championship eight days ago, Sunday's defeat marked FGCU's third straight ASUN Tournament Championship loss to the Ospreys. The Eagles dropped the final match, 4-1, in 2015 before squaring off again a season ago and falling, 4-2.

"Of course we're disappointed, but UNF played a great match today," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "They played tough, and we knew that would be the case after last weekend. Credit to them for coming out, battling us and not giving up at any point. In terms of our team, the future is bright. We'll miss Breana (Stampfli), but what we have right now is strong, so I'm looking forward to next year. This was our third straight year of being in the finals, and I'm hoping it's bothering the girls a little more each year so they train that much harder to come back and make something happen next year."

The Eagles cruised to an early lead behind a pair of impressive wins in courts one and three in doubles action. After shutting out their Stetson counterparts less than 24 hours ago, FGCU's freshman duo of Kelly and Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) cruised to an impressive win in #3 doubles as they defeated Valdez and Kinga Gartner, 6-1, on court three. Minutes later, claiming the cumulative doubles point, Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Julianna Curtis (Tampa, Fla./Allendale Academy) took down UNF's top tandem of Luise Intert and Quetzali Vazquez, 6-3, on court one.

From there, FGCU continued to look strong in singles action as a straight-set win from Forster on court six and three-set victory by senior Breana Stampfli (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph's Convent) in #2 singles got the Eagles to within a point of claiming the championship. Forster, who turned in a dominating performance in yesterday's win against Stetson, also cruised to a victory today as he took the first set against Gartner, 6-1, before winning the second set and her match, 6-2. Stampli got off to a fast start by winning the opening frame against Rafaela Gomez, 6-1, before falling a hard-fought second set and ultimately taking the match, 6-1, in the decisive third frame.

The Florida heat appeared to take its toll on the Eagles from there as UNF won two straight matches on courts four and three to cut the FGCU lead to 3-2. Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) fell in straight sets to Vazquez in #4 singles, before Ascúa loss a three-set match on court three. After dropping the opening frame, Falceto Font battled to a tiebreak in the second set, but ultimately lost by a 7-1 margin. Ascúa started strong with a 6-4 first-set win, but suffered back-to-back 6-1 losses in the second and third frames and lost the point.

The aforementioned matches on courts five and one ensued, and FGCU ultimately lost the title match in heartbreaking fashion.

RESULTS VS. NO. 2 UNF
Doubles
#1: Ascúa/Curtis (FGCU) def. Intert/Vazquez (UNF): 6-3
#2: Stampfli/Ornberg (FGCU) vs. Montano/Gomez (UNF): 5-3, unfinished
#3: Kelly/Forster (FGCU) def. Valdez/Gartner (UNF): 6-1

Singles
#1: Valdez (UNF) def. Ornberg (FGCU): 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
#2: Stampfli (FGCU) def. Gomez (UNF): 6-1, 4-6, 6-0
#3: Karangozishvili (UNF) def. Ascúa (FGCU): 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
#4: Vazquez (UNF) def. Falceto Font (FGCU): 6-1, 7-6 (1)
#5: Intert (UNF) def. Kelly (FGCU): 6-2, 3-6, 2-4, retired
#6: Forster (FGCU) def. Gartner (UNF): 6-1, 6-2
 
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (6, 2, 4, 3, 5, 1)
 
ASUN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michelle Valdez, UNF – MVP
Luise Intert, UNF
Quetzali Vazquez, UNF
Breana Stampfli, FGCU
Sofia Ferding, Stetson
Nathalie Habegger, NJIT

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 two-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon, whose fourth season under the helm saw the Eagles claim their first ASUN Championship in program history. She has mentored her student-athletes into earning a total of 43 ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic honors, including the 2014, 2016 and 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year as well as the 2016 and 2017 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to a 51-34 overall record (.600) and 21-5 conference record (.808) in her four 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.