FORT MYERS, Fla – The FGCU women's tennis team (3-4) snapped a two-game losing skid, claiming a dominant 6-1 victory over Western Michigan (7-6) Monday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
"The girls are growing every day," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We have a lot to continue to work on and I am thankful for their commitment to the plan and the way they challenge themselves each day. Tonight was special as our Bonita Bay family came out to support and tailgate before the match. This group of special people gave a scholarship to our ladies and we love having them at our matches and interacting with the team!"

The momentum shifted in favor of the Eagles after the pairing of Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) and Julianna Curtis (West Des Moines, Iowa/Allendale Academy) claimed the first doubles match in a 6-2 convincing fashion.  Soon after, the tandem of Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) and Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe) clinched the doubles point for the Eagles as the duo came out on top 6-4.

Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School snagged the first singles win on court five defeating WMU's Jeryn Jack 6-0, 6-2, while just minutes later Villar wrapped up her match, 6-0, 6-1, ballooning the Green and Blue's lead to 3-0. With only four courts matches in action, newcomer Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) sealed the win for FGCU, clinching on court four 6-3, 6-2. Both teams would continue to play out the rest of the matches as the Eagles would garner the remaining two of three en route to the 6-1 victory.

The only match of the night that would go unfinished was early on in doubles at the No. 1 spot in which the Eagles trailed by one.

In singles, FGCU now boasts five players that have a .500 or better record in dual play, led by Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) who now moves to 5-2. In doubles, the duo of Font and Curtis teamed up for the second time this season and move to a 2-0 record.

COMPLETE RESULTS
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Melina Lyubomirova/Katja Fevralev (WMU) def. Julia Ascúa /Maja Ornberg (FGCU) 6-5
2. Laura Falceto Font/Julianna Curtis (FGCU) def. Barbare Eristavi/Jeryn Jack (WMU) 6-2
3. Sofia Perez/Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Denise Azcui/Gabriela Slavova (WMU) 6-4

SINGLES RESULTS
1. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Melina Lyubomirova (WMU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Barbare Eristavi (WMU) def. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) 4-6, 6-2, 10-8
3. Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Denise Azcui (WMU) 6-4, 4-6, 10-7
4. Madison Gallegos (FGCU) def. Katja Fevralev (WMU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Jeryn Jack (WMU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Gabriela Slavova (WMU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,6,4,2,3,1)

UP NEXT
FGCU will host Michigan State this Friday, Mar. 9 at 1 p.m., followed by Minnesota on Monday, Mar. 12 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 54-38 overall record (.600) and 21-5 conference record (.808) in her four years at FGCU.