FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team dropped a difficult 5-2 match to Stetson Saturday night, on a night honoring departing seniors Oliver Landert and Austin Bates. The Eagles (8-11, 3-3 ASUN) will face NJIT in next weekend's tournament following the loss to the Hatters (17-3, 5-1). FGCU will enter as the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament.

"I'm really proud of Austin and Oli for everything they've given to the program over the years," said head coach CJ Weber. "I couldn't ask anything more of them, and I know they will both be proud alumni; they'll have great memories both on and off the court. Ultimately, this is what college tennis is about.

"Today just wasn't our day. We still just need to get tougher in singles, that's all there is to it. I'm looking forward to next weekend. The conference tournament is always the culmination of the season and it should be a fun weekend."

FGCU started doubles strong, posting a 6-2 win at No. 2 thanks to Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia /Oklahoma State) and Ezequiel Cerrini (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla./Homeschool). Meanwhile, Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School/Florida) and Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colégio Anglo Americano) stormed back from 4-1 down to defeat Colter Decoste and Linus Bergevi 7-5.

Bates (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) did not finish their match.

Singles, however, did not go the way of the Eagles. The Hatters claimed the first four singles matches to clinch the match before Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) and Landert won their respective second sets to force third set tiebreaks.

Fernandez prevailed in his third set 10-3 while Landert dropped his in heartbreaking fashion 11-9.

At No. 1, Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira/TCU) fell 6-4, 6-2 to Malik Bhatnagar while Ramirez dropped his match at No. 2 by the same score to Loic Blanco.

Cerrini fell 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3 to Antoine Sanchez and Tebet dropped his match at No. 5 7-5, 6-1 to Linus Bergevi.

UP NEXT
FGCU will play NJIT Friday in the Quarterfinals of the ASUN Tournament.

COMPLETE RESULTS
Doubles Results
1) Marcelo Tebet/Oliver Landert (FGCU) def. Colter Decoste/Linus Bergevi (STET) 7-5
2) Mateo Ruiz/Ezequiel Cerrini (FGCU) def. Angus Bradshaw/Malik Bhatnagar (STET) 6-2
3) Austin Bates/Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) vs. Loic Blanco/Antoine Sanchez (STET) DNF
 Singles Results
1) Malik Bhatnagar (STET) def. Felipe Escobar (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
2) Loic Blano (STET) def. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
3) Antoine Sanchez (STET) def. Ezequiel Cerrini (FGCU) 6-4, 6-3
4) Angus Bradshaw (STET) def. Oliver Landert (FGCU) 6-4, 5-7, 11-9
5) Linus Bergevi (STET) def. Marcelo Tebet (FGCU) 7-5, 6-1
6) Javier Fernandez (FGCU) def. Coilin MacNamara (STET) 5-7, 6-4, 10-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1), Singles (1,2,3,5,6,4)

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 81-67 (.549) overall record and a 32-17 (.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. FGCU again won the ASUN Championship in 2017, advancing to its second NCAA Tournament.
 
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.