JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following a third-place finish in the regular season the FGCU men's tennis team begins its ASUN Tournament title defense Friday against NJIT on the campus of UNF. The Eagles (8-11, 3-3 ASUN) and the No. 6 Highlanders (9-10, 1-5 ASUN) are slated to start their quarterfinal matchup at 11:30 a.m.

The winner of FGCU and NJIT advances to face No. 2 Stetson in the semifinal Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
 
Live stats will be available all weekend with the final airing on ESPN .
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since CJ Weber arrived in Fort Myers, the Eagles have risen to the top of the ASUN and made their presence felt in the ASUN Tournament. Prior to Weber's arrival, the Eagles had never made it to the ASUN Tournament, but beginning with the 2011-12 season, the Eagles have clinched a spot in every tournament since including two titles (2015, 2017).
 
During that time, FGCU has missed out on the semifinals just once (2012).

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) has been a consistent force against ASUN foes during his FGCU tenure. Over his three seasons, Fernandez has only lost twice to ASUN opponents during the regular season. This season, Fernandez also leads the team with 16 wins. 

Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) is second on the team with 13 victories 2018. Last season's Freshman of the Year, Ramirez is 6-11 at No. 1 singles. Ramirez saved some of his best tennis for the end, clinching the tournament title against Lipscomb.

Oliver Landert (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) rebounded from a difficult junior season to compile 12 wins in his senior season, eight of those coming in the spring. Landert is 6-3 at No. 3 this season.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
FGCU and NJIT are two weeks removed from the regular season matchup that witnessed the Eagles claim a 6-1 victory in Fort Myers. FGCU claimed the doubles point in that contest and went on to win all but one singles match to secure the match win.

NJIT's successes have mostly come from the bottom four spots of the lineup where the Highlanders are a combined 44-32, however, Jan Cimrman was the lone Highlander to prevail two weeks ago claiming his match at No. 2. Abdullah Fouad has had a strong season at No. 4, posting a 6-5 record. Richard Rangga has won 11 of his 14 matches at No. 6.

With the win earlier this season, FGCU is now 3-2 all-time against NJIT. This will be the first time FGCU and NJIT will meet in the ASUN Tournament.
 
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 an 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.