FORT MYERS, Fla. – After four-straight matches away from home to open the 2018 dual slate, the FGCU men's tennis team makes it home debut Saturday against Georgia Southern. The Eagles' first home match of the season is slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Admission remains free for all fans, though seating is limited. Fans are encouraged to bring their own seating.
DEFENDING THE NEST
Over the past four seasons, FGCU posted a 30-15 record at the FGCU Tennis Complex. Among those 30 wins was a 15-match winning streak at home that spanned from March of 2015 to February of 2017. The Eagles completed a perfect 9-0 home slate during its championship-winning 2016 season after compiling a 7-1 record the year prior.
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU continued to face the nation's best as the Green and Blue traveled to Tallahassee to face #20 Florida State and ETSU. While FGCU came away with two losses to run its record to 0-4, the No. 1 doubles team of
Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and
Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) upset #37 Juan Lugo and Frazier Rengifo of ETSU 6-4. Ramirez later earned a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 win over ETSU's Robert Herrera to highlight the weekend.
Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira/TCU) and
Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) also claimed victories for the Green and Blue against the Buccaneers.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2
FGCU claimed its second Player of the Week honor following action in Tallahassee as Ramirez took home the conference award. His play in doubles and singles was selected as the best performance of the weekend and follows Escobar's honor the week prior.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
FGCU was named the preseason ASUN favorites Friday according to the league's coaches. FGCU garnered three first-place votes and 43 total votes, one more than Stetson. Both Stetson and UNF received two first-place votes.
A regular season title in 2018 would mark the program's third in four seasons and a fifth overall title in the same time span.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern is 0-3 heading into Friday's contest at Miami with losses to Mercer, Air Force, and Incarnate Word. Stefano Di Aloy earned the only singles win for the Eagles in their last match against Incarnate Word. Georgia Southern also earned the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
FGCU leads the all-time series 3-2 after earning a 4-3 victory in Statesboro in 2016.
UP NEXT
The Eagles have two matches next week, beginning with yet another difficult road contest at FAU before returning home to face Florida A&M. The Eagles and Owls are slated for a 3 p.m. start Saturday in Boca Raton. FGCU's contest against the Rattlers is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. Sunday.
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 74-60 (.552) 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.
