FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (1-1) fell 4-2 in its 2018 spring home opener to cross-state foe FIU (3-1) Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

The Green and Blue kept the scoreboard tight as the Eagles only trailed one match, 3-2, with two remaining on the courts. Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) saw their matches go to a grueling third set, before Forster fell in the third set, 6-1. At the time, Gallegos led FIU's Mina Markovic 5-1 in the third, before the match was called and ruled "unfinished" due to Forster's defeat.

"FIU is a tough team, we knew coming in, they would fight hard," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "The girls are making progress and they're taking ownership for today and we will keep learning, so there are many great lessons to take home from today. We are looking forward to getting back to work so we can begin preparations for this weekend."

Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) faced #3 Andrea Lazaro. Despite falling 6-1 in the first set, Ascúa displayed her resiliency to knot the second set 4-4, before ultimately falling to a 6-4 final. Playing on court four in the No. 2 singles spot, Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) claimed the Eagles' first victory of the day trouncing Maryna Veksler 6-2, 6-3.

Sofia Perez (Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) found herself in a contested battle as the sophomore was edged narrowly 6-4, 7-5 in both sets. Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) produced the second Green and Blue victory as the Spain native came out on top with a second set tiebreaker, (7-5) trimming the deficit down to one, 3-2. Shortly after, Forster forced a third set before falling 6-1, clinching the victory for FIU.

In doubles play, the Panthers had the upper hand, claiming two victories by a pair of 6-2 scores and the last match used a 7-5 final of the No. 2 pairing of Forster and Perez.

UP NEXT
FGCU will hit the road and stop first in Macon, Ga., to face Mercer on Friday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m., followed by Georgia Southern the next day in Statesboro at 1 p.m.

COMPLETE RESULTS
Doubles Results
1) Maryna Veksler/Ulyana Grib (FIU) def. Julia Ascúa/Julianna Curtis (FGCU) 6-2
2) Mina Markovic/Sandra Bozinovic (FIU) def. Bridget Forster/Sofia Perez (FGCU) 7-5
3) Andrea Lazaro/Nerma Caluk (FIU) def. Maja Ornberg/Madison Gallegos (FGCU) 6-2
Singles Results
1) #3 Andrea Lazaro (FIU) def. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
2) Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Maryna Veksler (FIU) 6-2, 6-3
3) Ulyana Grib (FIU) def. Sofia Perez (FGCU) 6-4, 7-5
4) Madison Gallegos (FGCU) def. Mina Markovic (FIU) 6-3, 2-6, 5-1
5) Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Sandra Bozinovic (FIU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
6) Nerma Caluk (FIU) def. Bridget Forster (FGCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

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 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 52-35 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.