FORT MYERS, Fla. – Looking to bounce back from a loss to open ASUN play, the FGCU men's tennis team begins a crucial portion of its 2018 schedule that features eight home matches to end the year.

The first of those home contests is set for Thursday at 5 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex against William & Mary. Admission remains free for all home matches and fans are encouraged to bring their own seating as bleacher space is limited.
 
DEFENDING THE NEST
FGCU's success at home has been a vital aspect of the program's success under head coach CJ Weber. Since the 2012-13 season, Weber's second in Southwest Florida, the Eagles are 39-18 at the FGCU Tennis Complex. During that stretch, the Green and Blue have posted winning records in all but one of those seasons, including a 7-1 record in 2014-15 and a 9-0 mark in 2015-16.
 
This season, the Eagles are 3-0 at home. Beginning with Thursday's match, eight of FGCU's final ten matches are at home.
 
GIVING BACK
FGCU spent Monday morning giving back to the community, serving at the Community Cooperative. From 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Eagles helped prep food, cleaned the dining hall, organized the kitchen and prepared food for the following day's meals.
 
SCOUTING THE TRIBE
William & Mary enters the match with a 7-4 mark overall and a 1-0 record in Colonial action. After winning their first five duals of the season, the Tribe have lost four of their last six matches including a 5-2 contest against FAU. William & Mary have had the most success at No. 2 and No. 4, compiling a combined 17-5 record. Alec Miller has earned a 5-1 record at No. 2 while Finbar Talcott is 5-0 at No. 4.
 
The Tribe have struggled during doubles play, however, posting losing records at all three positions.
 
Thursday marks the first meeting between the two programs.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU opened ASUN play with a 5-2 loss to defending regular season champions UNF. Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) earned the singles win for FGCU, while Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool) teams up for the doubles win.
A hard-fought doubles point swung in favor of the Ospreys, who used the momentum to build a 3-0 lead, one FGCU could not overcome.
 
CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by CJ Weber who has coached 26 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his sixth year, Weber has compiled a 76-62 (.552) overall record and a 29-15 (.694) record in ASUN play. In 2014-15, Weber guided the Eagles to their first-ever ASUN Championship and first-ever ASUN Regular Season title after a program-best 17 wins. In his third season, Weber led Jordi Vives to a No. 35 national ranking, a nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streak and the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament - the program's first appearance. The Eagles completed consecutive perfect ASUN seasons in 2016 and back-to-back conference titles as well as a second-straight Coach of the Year honor for Weber.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis follow us on Twitter @FGCU_MTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of each day of competition.
 
#FEEDFGCU
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.