GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A bid for history was denied Friday evening when the FGCU men's tennis team suffered a 4-0 loss to the #15 Florida Gators in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles finish the season (10-13) while the Gators (18-9) advance to face Georgia Tech in the Second Round.
"Today, Florida's game put a lot of pressure on us," said head coach
CJ Weber. "I felt like we were close to taking a few matches from them. They got on top of us and we never fully neutralized the match. They have a great team and I wish them luck in the tourney. I'm so thankful for what this team did for me and the program this season. This was a really tough year and I think an average group would have given up a long time ago. But they kept trying and never gave up on themselves. I'm really proud of them and happy that they have a conference championship as a reward. I continue to look forward to the future of this program, while we remain grateful for the past."
Facing a nationally ranked opponent for the fourth time this season the Eagles fell behind after doubles play.
Andres Alfonzo (Hollywood, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Texas Christian University) and
Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) dropped a 6-1 match at No. 2 to Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin while
Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) and
Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) fell 6-3 at No. 3 to Joshua Wardell and Chase Perez-Blanco.
On Court One,
Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) and
Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) were locked in a tough match against #6 Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez.
When the match turned to singles play, Ramirez suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss to #9 Perez, putting the host Gators in front 2-0. Florida later made it 3-0 when Alfonzo fell 6-1, 6-4 to McClain Kessler and the match went final when Cerrini dropped a 6-4, 6-2 match to Perez-Blanco.
Fernandez picked up FGCU's lone set win, taking the first set 6-4 from Ingildsen. The sophomore later dropped his second set 6-1.
FULL RESULTS
DOUBLES
1) Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) vs. #6 Ingildsen/Perez (UF) 4-4 DNF
2) Lipman/Orkin (UF) def. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU) 6-1
3) Wardell/Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Ruiz/Fernandez (FGCU) 6-3
SINGLES
1) #9 Perez (UF) def. Ramirez (FGCU) 6-1, 6-2
2) #77 Orkin (UF) vs. Ruiz (FGCU) 6-4, 4-3 DNF
3) Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Cerrini (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
4) Lipman (UF) vs. Landert (FGCU) 6-2, 4-4 DNF
5) Fernandez (FGCU) vs. Ingildsen (UF) 6-4, 1-6 DNF
6) Kessler (UF) vs. Alfonzo (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 3), Singles (1, 6, 3)
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 74-56 (.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.
