PHOENIX, Ariz. – The FGCU men's tennis team (0-2) fell to Grand Canyon (2-1) 6-1, Friday afternoon at the GCU Tennis Facility.

"Grand Canyon played a great match today with a lot of energy and good fight," said head coach CJ Weber. "These are great matches for us early in the year. We have a good core group of guys this year so I'm confident we can learn the things we need to in order to develop. Tomorrow is another opportunity for us."

In doubles competition, the Eagles battled closely with GCU as they dropped a pair of 6-4 decisions, with the clinching match coming on court No. 2. Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Virginia Tech) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) played on the final court but the match would go unfinished (5-5).

Transitioning into singles play, three of FGCU's matches were either sent into a third set or decided on a tiebreaker. Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) fought back after going down 3-6 in his first set to win the second stanza 7-5. His opponent, Justin Cvitanovic, would exit the match with an injury as Fernandez collected the point on court No. 5.

UP NEXT  
FGCU faces a quick turnaround squaring off against Sacramento State tomorrow at noon at the GCU Tennis Facility.

Singles competition
1. Lorenzo Fucile (GCU) def. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Mathieu Rajaonah (GCU) def. Juan Montes (FGCU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Valentin Lang (GCU) def. Felipe Escobar (FGCU) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 12-10
4. Lucas Grego (GCU) def. Ezequiel Cerrini (FGCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Javier Fernandez (FGCU) def. Justin Cvitanovic (GCU) 3-6, 7-5, retired
6. Freddie Grant (GCU) def. Marcelo Tebet (FGCU) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition
1. Lorenzo Fucile / Mathieu Rajaonah (GCU) def. Felipe Escobar /Mateo Ruiz (FGCU) 6-4
2. Valentin Lang /Jakub Novak (GCU) def. Marcelo Tebet / Ezequiel Cerrini (FGCU) 6-4
3. Lucas Grego / Freddie Grant (GCU) vs. Feliksas Sakalauskas/ Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) 5-5, unfinished  

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CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by CJ Weber who has coached 29 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his seventh year, Weber has compiled an 83-70 (.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.