FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (1-2) suffered its second loss of the season as the Eagles fell to the 17th-ranked Hurricanes (2-0) 6-1, Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"Miami is a tough team and it showed today in the way that they were able to put pressure on us in tight moments," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We had a lot of opportunities today and we are continuing to be challenged which is exciting! The ladies are learning to trust the plan and I love to see them trust each other and display courage. We can't wait to get back to work on Monday."

In doubles competition, the Eagles got a huge lift on the top court as the duo of Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) and Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) defeated the No. 51-ranked doubles team in the nation. With a score of 6-2 over Yuna Ito and Ulyana Shirokova, the Green and Blue tandem moved to 2-1 on the year. UM would grab a 6-3 victory on court No. 2, as the Eagles dropped a hard-fought battle on the final court, 7-5, to give Miami a 1-0 lead.

Transition into singles, UM built its lead taking the first three matches until senior Ascúa collected a straight-set victory (6-2, 6-4) for her second dual win this season. On court No. 2, Sara Kelly (Naples, Fla./Florida Virtual School) produced a 6-2 result in set one, ultimately going into a third-set tiebreaker where the sophomore was edged out by Daevenia Achong (6-2, 4-6, 6-10) en route to the 6-1 final for the visitors.

UP NEXT
FGCU returns to the courts for another set of back-to-back matches on Feb. 1-2 where they will face Middle Tennessee (1-1) and in-state foe FAU (1-2).

Doubles Competition
1. Julia Ascúa/Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. No. 51 Yuna Ito/Ulyana Shirokova (UM), 6-2
2. Daevenia Achong/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Madison Gallegos/Sofia Perez (FGCU), 6-3
3. Ana Madcur/Daniella Roldan (UM) def. Laura Font/Sara Kelly (FGCU), 7-5

Singles Competition
1. No. 7 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Maja Ornberg (FGCU), 6-0, 6-2
2. Daevenia Achong (UM) def. Sara Kelly (FGCU), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
3. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) def. Yuna Ito (UM), 6-2, 6-4
4. Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Laura Font (FGCU), 6-4, 6-3
5. Carla Girbau (UM) def. Sofia Perez (FGCU), 6-4, 6-4
6. Ana Madcur (UM) def. Madison Gallegos (FGCU), 6-1, 6-1

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 led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN regular-season crowns in her fifth season in 2018. 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 62-44 overall record (.586) and 27-5 conference record (.827) in her six years at FGCU.