Box Score TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In the first day of action at the state's capital, the FGCU men's tennis team lost 4-0 to #20 Florida State Saturday morning. The Eagles (3-0) dropped the doubles point to the Seminoles (7-0) and could not recover despite a few bright moments early in singles.

"Today was actually a step in the right direction compared to Monday against BYU," said head coach CJ Weber. "FSU stepped on us really early in doubles, but we responded with good attitudes in the singles. This team is not there yet, but we will get there."

Two 6-0 losses at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles put the Green and Blue behind 1-0 early. Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) fell to Guy Iradukunda and Aziz Douglaz at the top spot. Meanwhile, Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) and Austin Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) lost at No. 3 to Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst.

When the match moved to singles, Landert and Fernandez had the most success, both winning their respective first sets. Landert started strong at No. 3, winning the first five games before #24 Lucas Poullain won three-straight to close the gap only for Landert to claim the set 6-3.

Fernandez however faced opposite against Jose Gracia at No. 4, trailing 5-1 before storming back to lead 6-5. The junior won the set 8-6 in the tiebreaker.

Bates and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) also had strong showings in their matches. Bates, playing at No. 5 against Chase Wood, led 4-3 but could not finish off the set falling 6-4. Ruiz kept his set close at No. 2, but Douglaz won the first set 6-3 and the second 6-1.

Facing #22 Iradukunda, Ramirez lost 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 while Nicolas Tibaudin (Buenos Aires, Argentina) lost his debut match to Terrell Whitehurst 6-2, 6-0.

UP NEXT
FGCU wraps up play in Tallahassee tomorrow at 11 a.m. against ETSU.

COMPLETE RESULTS
Doubles
1) Guy Iradukunda/Aziz Douglaz (FSU) def. Felipe Ramirez/Oliver Landert (FGCU) 6-0
2) Felipe Escobar/Mateo Ruiz (FGCU) vs. #8 Jose Gracia/Lucas Poullain (FSU) 2-4 - unfinished
3) Terrance Whitehurst/Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) def. Javier Fernandez/Austin Bates (FGCU) 6-0
Singles
1) #22 Guy Iradukunda (FSU) def. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
2) Aziz Douglaz (FSU) def. Mateo Ruiz (FGCU) 6-3, 6-1
3) Oliver Landert (FGCU) vs. #24 Lucas Poullain (FSU) 6-3, 2-5 - unfinished
4) Javier Fernandez (FGCU) vs. Jose Gracia 7-6 (8-6), 0-3 - unfinished
5) Austin Bates (FGCU) vs. Chase Wood (FSU) 4-6, 1-4 - unfinished
6) Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) def. Nicolas Tibaudin (FGCU) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1), Singles (2, 1, 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 sixth year, Weber has compiled a 74-59 (.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
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