JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The top-seeded FGCU women's tennis team (10-8) was stunned Saturday evening as the Eagles fell in a heartbreaking 4-3 match to the 4th-seeded Stetson Hatters (13-8) at the UNF Tennis Complex.
 
"Today was such a hard-fought battle," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "Stetson came out swinging and give them credit, they were the team that handled the big moments better tonight. I am proud of the way the girls fought and the work ethic they carried every day throughout the season. Our senior Julianna is graduating and I want to say thank you again for what she has given to this team and school. We are thankful for this season and every person that helped us grow. We look forward to working hard next year and seeing what opportunities we receive to learn more."
 
The close battle began in doubles play as the Hatters took the first victory claiming a 6-1 win on court #1. Soon after, the pair of Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe) gave FGCU the split with a 6-4 victory on court #3. Stetson though would get the best of the Eagles in the remaining match picking up a 6-2 decision to take a 1-0 advantage.
 
Looking to tie the affair, the newly crowned ASUN Player of the Year Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) made quick work of her counterpart bouncing Arijana Korac in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Tied at one, Stetson regained its lead on court #3 but Laura Falceto Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza) answered moments later in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) and once again tied the clash at 2-2.
 
After a hard-fought 7-6 win in set one, Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) cruised in her second set to come out on top 6-0, giving FGCU its first lead of the afternoon. All eyes turned to courts #2 and #5 as they would decide the winner.
 
Junior Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) forced a third set but ultimately fell 6-3 in the third game. Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) did the same and battled back to take her match to three sets, falling 6-3 as the Hatters moved on to the ASUN Championship game.
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
 1. Danel Ashirova/Lucie Renault (STET) def. Maja Ornberg/Julia Ascúa (FGCU) 6-1
2. Arijana Korac/Vicky Geurinckx (STET) def. Julianna Curtis/Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) 6-2
3. Madison Gallegos/Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Maxine Bateman/Brooke Milner (STET) 6-4
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Arijana Korac (STET) 6-1, 6-1
2. Lucie Renault (STET) def. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. Danel Ashirova (STET) def. Madison Gallegos (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Laura Falceto Font (FGCU) def. Vicky Geurinckx (STET) 6-3, 6-3
5. Brooke Milner (STET) def. Sofia Perez (FGCU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
6. Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Maxine Bateman (STET) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0

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

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 three-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon, who in her fifth season thus far has seen the Eagles claim their second-straight ASUN regular season crown. She has mentored her student-athletes into earning 56 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 and the 2018 Player of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to a 61-42 overall record (.586) and 27-5 conference record (.827) in her five years at FGCU.