FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (0-1) dropped its first match of the season as USF (1-1) came away with a 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"USF played well today," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "They played the game points with more intent than us. We will grow much from today and we'll continue to work hard every day and embrace the many opportunities we have to grow each time we compete. We're grateful for all of our fans that came out today and thankful for the support we always have at our matches."

Beginning with the doubles competition, it was a tight battle on court No.1 as Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) squared off against Nicole Dzenga and Vanja Klaric. Knotted mid-way through the set, the momentum swung in the Bulls favor as they walked away with a 6-4 victory. Meanwhile, the clinching point would come on court No. 3 as Madison Gallegos (Denver, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) fell 6-3, giving the Bulls a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.

FGCU tied the match at one with a dominating victory from Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual) on court No. 2. The Naples native cruised in the first set, 6-1, and came out on top 6-4 in the second set. USF regained its lead to go up 2-1 after claiming the victory on court No. 6. Perez nearly captured her first set in a hard-fought 7-6 battle as the junior fell in the second stanza, 6-2.

Ascúa's match was the only one to go into three sets Sunday afternoon. The senior took the first set 6-3, only to have Laura Pellicer take the second 6-3. Up 2-1 in the third set, Ascúa pulled away from her counterpart for a 6-3 final, cutting FGCU's deficit to one.

USF's Ana Roman secured the match on court No. 1 over Ornberg (4-6, 3-6) as the Bulls collected the final match of the day on court No. 6 for the 5-2 final.

UP NEXT  
The Eagles will host Georgia State on Friday, Jan. 18 at 10 am.

Doubles competition
1. Nicole Dzenga/Vanja Klaric (USF) def. Julia Ascúa / Maja Ornberg (FGCU) 6-4
2. Amelie Boy/Ana Roman (USF) def. Madison Gallegos/ Sofia Perez (FGCU) 6-3
3. Janvhi Clark/ Laura Pellicer (USF) vs Bridget Forster/ Sara Kelly (FGCU) 4-3  (DNF)    

Singles Competiton
1. Ana Roman (USF) def. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Sara Kelly (FGCU) def. Evelyne Tiron (USF) 6-1, 6-4
3. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) def. Laura Pellicer (USF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Vanja Klaric (USF) def. Sofia Perez (FGCU) 7-6 (6-8), 6-2
5. Amelie Boy (USF) def. Laura Font (FGCU) 7-5, 7-5
6. Nicole Dzenga (USF)  Bridget Forster/ (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4

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

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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 saw 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 61-43 overall record (.586) and 27-5 conference record (.827) in her six years at FGCU.