KENNESAW, Ga. – The FGCU women's tennis team (6-7, 2-0 ASUN) capped off a perfect 2-0 weekend to open ASUN action claiming a dominant 7-0 win over Kennesaw State (1-12, 0-2 ASUN) Saturday afternoon.

Dating back to last season, the Eagles have now won eight-consecutive regular season matches, and 13 of the last 14 in their conference slate.

"We knew Kennesaw would fight," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "I was pleased with the focus the girls showed today. We talked about the plan before the match and the intent remained the same the entire match as they did not let up. We look forward to getting back to work on Monday to prepare for NJIT."  

Right out of the gates, FGCU established its lead taking the doubles point with wins on court #1 and #3. Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) and Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) notched the first win with a 6-1 decision while Bridget Forster and Sofia Perez clinched it on court #3 in 6-2 fashion.

Transitioning into singles play, the Eagles dominated in all facets, yielding just one set to Owls the rest of the way. Forster began the dominoes effect picking up a pair of 6-1 victories, soon after, Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe) claimed a triumph on court #6, 6-2, 6-0. The final stamp and clinching match would come on court #4 as Perez made quick of her counterpart coming out on top, 6-4, 6-2.

After the top two courts wrapped up, the last remaining court in action involving Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Laura Hopton went into three sets. Gallegos dropped her second set 4-6, but fought back in a third set tiebreaker, 10-7, putting the final touches on the 7-0 win.

DOUBLES RESULTS  
1. Maja Ornberg/ Julia Ascúa (FGCU) def. Alexandra Mercado/Jessica Cantrell (KSU) 6-1
2. Laura Hopton/Jada Tijani (KSU) vs. Madison Gallegos/Patricia Villar (FGCU) unfinished
3. Sofia Perez/Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Kennedy Craig/Aspen Jarrett (KSU) 6-2

SINGLES RESULTS
1. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Alexandra Mercado (KSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) def. Kennedy Craig (KSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Madison Gallegos (FGCU) def. Laura Hopton (KSU) 6-1, 4-6, 10-6
4. Sofia Perez (FGCU) def. Jessica Cantrell (KSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Aspen Jarrett (KSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Brenna Reilly (KSU) 6-2, 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (5,6,4,2,1)

UP NEXT
FGCU returns home on Thursday, Apr. 5 and will host two matches in three days starting with NJIT (8-7, 1-1 ASUN) at 5 p.m. Two days later on Saturday, the Eagles take on USC Upstate (1-14, 0-3 ASUN) also at 5 p.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 57-41 overall record (.600) and 23-5 conference record (.808) in her four years at FGCU.