NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The FGCU women's tennis team (5-7, 1-0 ASUN) turned in a gutsy performance to win its fourth-straight ASUN opener claiming a 4-3 comeback triumph over Lipscomb (7-10, 1-1 ASUN) in a match that lasted nearly four and a half hours Thursday afternoon at the Ensworth Indoor Tennis Center.

"Today was a battle," stated head coach Courtney Vernon. "The girls did a great job adjusting to going indoors. I am proud of the fight in this team and Laura did a great job clinching the match today."

Despite four Eagles being down one set at a point during the match, the fight in FGCU never stopped. After dropping the doubles point, the Green and Blue strung three consecutive victories as Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) clinched it for the squad in a 6-2 third set on court #4 to take home the 4-3 victory.

The tandem of Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe) moved to 2-2 on the year after picking up FGCU's lone doubles win in a 6-2 decision as the Eagles trailed 1-0 early on.

Unfazed, Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) got the momentum going for the Eagles as she made quick work of her counterpart capturing a pair of 6-2 decisions to knot the affair at one. Soon after, Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) picked up another straight-set victory (6-4, 6-0) before each match from here on after went into three sets.

After dropping her first set 1-6, Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) bounced back on court #1 yielding just one point to Lipscomb's Viktoriya Dzyuba winning her last sets 6-1, 6-0 to give FGCU a 3-1 advantage. The Bisons did not go away either, as they reeled two consecutive wins on courts #2 and #3, tying the match 3-3. This turned everyone's attention to court #4 where Font and Denise Buberl stood alone.

Originally down 4-6 in her first set, the Spain native picked up a close 7-5 second set to hang around and keep hopes alive. Walking into the final game, Font left no doubt as the junior clinched 6-2 in the final set to secure FGCU's opening-conference win over Lipscomb.

Dating back to last season, the Eagles have now won seven-consecutive regular season matches, and 12 of the last 13 in their conference slate.

DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Viktoriya Dzyuba/Denise Buberl (LIPW) def. Julia Ascúa/Maja Ornberg (FGCU) 6-1
2. Madeleine Brooks/Kateryna Popova (LIPW) def. Julianna Curtis/Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) 6-3
3. Madison Gallegos/Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Thabile Tshatedi/Kateryna Kandyba (LIPW) 6-2

SINGLES RESULTS
1. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Viktoriya Dzyuba (LIPW) 1-6, 6-1, 6-0
2. Kateryna Popova (LIPW) def. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-0, 6-3
3. Madeleine Brooks (LIPW) def. Madison Gallegos (FGCU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
4. Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Denise Buberl (LIPW) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
5. Sofia Perez (FGCU) def. Thabile Tshatedi (LIPW) 6-4, 6-0
6. Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Kateryna Kandyba (LIPW) 6-2, 6-2

UP NEXT
FGCU will have one day of rest before traveling to Kennesaw, Ga., for an 11 a.m. match on Saturday against the Owls (1-11, 0-1 ASUN).

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 56-41 overall record (.600) and 22-5 conference record (.808) in her four years at FGCU.