FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (3-5) will close out its non-conference regular-season home slate with two games in two days facing Minnesota at 5 p.m. Monday, followed by Notre Dame on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
 
"We are looking forward to hosting Minnesota and Notre Dame this week," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We look forward to competing the next two evenings! With only three more matches in the regular season, we are welcoming each opportunity to compete before the start of conference play."

With the matches on Monday and Tuesday, it will cap a seven-match homestand for FGCU before hitting the road for one more non-conference contest against USF before the start of ASUN play. 

Overall in singles play, Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping)  leads the Eagles in dual play with a 6-2 record, playing mostly in No. 1 spot as of late, where she is 3-0. In total, six members of the Green and Blue have notched three or more wins in dual play.

When it comes to doubles, the tandem of Julianna Curtis (West Des Moines, Iowa/Allendale Academy) and Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) have spearheaded the Eagles going 2-1 this spring, suffering their first loss this past weekend against Michigan State in an 11-9 tiebreaker.  

SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota comes into the Sunshine State with a 9-4 mark, including 1-0 in the Big Ten after taking down Wisconsin in a 4-3 final at home last week. In singles, seven Gophers have posted seven-plus wins in dual play led by Caitlyn Merzbacher who is 11-2 playing mostly out of the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

On the doubles side, Merzbacher and Mehvish Safdar have won six-straight matches which includes two nationally ranked opponents and are 10-2 as a team.

FGCU trails the all-time series 0-2 versus Minnesota with the last contest coming back in 2015.

SCOUTING THE IRISH
Notre Dame enters The Nest with an overall mark of 7-3, going 1-1 in ACC play this spring season. The Irish will be coming off a nine-day break after most recently defeating Purdue 6-1 on the road. In singles, Ally Bojczuk is 6-0 this season, 5-0 alone on court six and is riding a nine-game match winning streak that dates back to the fall.

In doubles competition, Rachel Chong and Bess Waldram are 4-0 out of the No. 3 spot while Cameron Corse and Zoe Spence are 6-2 in the No. 2 position.

This will be the first meeting between both teams as their dual back in 2015 was canceled due to rain at The Nest.

PRESEASON FAVORITES
The reigning regular season champions, the FGCU women finished the poll with 44 points matching the reigning ASUN Tournament champions UNF. However, the Ospreys received four first-place votes while the Eagles received three. FGCU and UNF finished the regular season as the top two teams and met in the tournament final, with the Ospreys narrowly defeating the Eagles 4-3.

Stetson (32 points) is expected to finish third according to the preseason poll, just ahead of Lipscomb (29). NJIT (25), Kennesaw State (14), and USC Upstate (8) round out the preseason poll.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU got the doubles rolling clinching on court one against Michigan State. The tandem of Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Ornberg handed Davina Nguyen and Emily Metcalf their first doubles loss of the year. After the Spartans won on court two, Curtis and Font went into a tiebreaker in which the pair ultimately fell 11-9. Transitioning into singles competition, Ascúa and Ornberg would claim the Eagles only triumphs in the 5-2 defeat.

UP NEXT
FGCU will travel up I-75 to face in-state foe USF on Saturday, Mar. 24 at 1 p.m. before starting ASUN play against Lipscomb on Thursday, Mar. 29 in Nashville, Tenn., at 10 a.m.

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 54-39 overall record (.600) and 21-5 conference record (.808) in her four years at FGCU.