GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Making its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons the FGCU men's tennis team heads to Gainesville to face the #15 Florida Gators Friday evening. The Eagles (10-12) are set for a 5 p.m. first serve against the host Gators (17-9).

A live video stream and live stats for the match will be available through FloridaGators.com.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Friday's meeting between FGCU and Florida will be the first-ever dual match between the two programs. Individuals are familiar with each other, having met in events such as the Bedford Cup and the Dick Vitale Lakewood Ranch Clay Court Classic.

The Eagles have experienced playing the likes of Florida State, Miami, UCF and USF but have never faced the Gators.

TWO TEAMS, TWO PATHS
Florida enters as an at-large carrying the #15 overall seed in the country. The Gators lost 4-3 to Georgia in the SEC Tournament after taking down Ole Miss 4-0.

Conversely, FGCU entered the ASUN Tournament as the No. 4 seed and needed some midnight madness to secure its second tournament championship. After taking down USC Upstate 5-2 in the opening round, the Eagles took down top-seeded UNF at approximately 3:15 a.m.

Trailing 3-2 in the match, Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) stormed back from 3-0 down in his third set to win 6-3 just as Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) took a 5-1 lead in his second set. Fernandez later secured the match win, to book FGCU's spot in the final.

Almost 13 hours later, the Eagles were back on the courts and defeated No. 6 Lipscomb 4-1 in the final with a Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) win at No. 1.

SCOUTING THE GATORS
The Gators present a formidable challenge at every spot in the roster, posting winning records at each of the six singles positions. Led by Alfredo Perez and his 16-7 record at No. 1, Florida won 84 singles matches this season. Perez is the only player to maintain his spot all season, as the remaining five spots have been occupied by at least two players.

The Gators have also been strong in doubles play, producing a 34-23 record this spring. The pairing of Johannes Ingildsen and Perez have produced a 12-6 record at No. 1 to lead all pairings.

INSTANT IMPACT
In just his first semester of college, Ramirez has already had a positive impact on the Green and Blue. Only Fernandez has produced more wins than Ramirez in the dual season. The freshman comes into the NCAA Tournament with 11 wins including two over nationally-ranked opponents.

Ramirez has experience playing at almost every portion of the lineup, posting a winning record at every spot. The freshman has settled in at No. 1, recording a 6-4 record from that position.

SUCCESS AT THE BOTTOM
A large portion of FGCU's success comes from the bottom three spots in the order. The Eagles are a combined 29-27 from four through six in the lineup, compared to 22-38 in the top three spots. Fernandez has performed the best of anyone in the lineup recently. Over the last 10 matches, the sophomore is 8-1, including a six-match winning streak.

While the bottom has experienced the most consistent success, the top of the order has picked up clutch wins. In FGCU's 4-3 win over UNF in the ASUN Semifinals, Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia  /Oklahoma State) defeated nationally-ranked Jefta Kecic in straight sets at No. 2 and Ramirez defeated Lipscomb's Rob Mitchell to clinch the tournament title.

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 74-55 (.600) overall record and a 29-14 (.694) record in ASUN play. In 2014-15, Weber guided the Eagles to their first-ever ASUN Championship and first-ever ASUN 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.