TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senior Feliksas Sakalauskas and sophomore Carter Bradford captured the crown in the B Doubles flight of the Bedford Cup as the FGCU men's tennis team posted an overall successful weekend of competition at Florida State's Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center.

"The Bedford Cup was another success. FSU did a great job of hosting it and the competition was great," head coach CJ Weber said. "I was really proud of my players in this tournament. We are a better team now than we were three days ago and that's the most important thing. I'm especially proud of Feliksas and Carter for taking home the title in the B Draw Doubles. Winning a title in any college tournament is not easy and they did it their first time playing together. I can't wait to get back out on the practice court and start working on more things."

Multiple Eagles got the competition started with opening-day victories on Friday (Oct. 11). Senior Felipe Ramirez collected a pair of individual wins in singles play and Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Virginia Tech) added a three-set triumph of his own. The duo of Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) and freshman Guglielmo Stefanacci defeated a USF pair in the A Doubles flight, while the team of Sakalauskas and Bradford  (Wesley Chapel, Fla./George Mason) earned a tiebreaker-win in their first round against Stetson in the B Doubles flight.

Senior Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colegio Anglo Americano), who also represented the Eagles this weekend, battled in A Singles play. After falling to an FAU opponent in his first match, he fought back in consolation play and defeated FAMU's Petr Cervinka in two sets.

The team of Sakalauskas and Bradford earned a semifinal win over UNF's Castaing and Kotan to stay alive in the B Doubles bracket, marking the only FGCU pair that advanced after day two of the tournament. In addition to FGCU's Saturday victory in doubles play, newcomers Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) and Bradford added wins in the Male Singles Round Robin play.

On the final day of competition, Sakalauskas and Bradford defeated Stetson's Gennes and Mills 8-4 to claim the B Doubles title. The win marks the second-consecutive year that the Eagles have won a flight at the Bedford Cup, as the duo of now-graduate Felipe Escobar and current assistant coach Mateo Ruiz won last year's A Doubles crown.

Up Next
FGCU will compete in the ITA Southeast Regional Championships Oct. 24-27 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. It will be the Eagles' first time returning to the Gators' home court since the teams faced off in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis follow us on Twitter & Instagram @FGCU_MTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of the competition.

CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year CJ Weber, who has coached 32 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his seventh year, Weber has compiled a 93-77 (.547) overall record and a 38-18 (.672) 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 a perfect ASUN regular season in both 2015 and 2016, finishing with conference titles as well as a Coach of the Year honor for Weber. FGCU again won the 2017 ASUN Championship and made its second NCAA appearance. The Eagles returned to the mountaintop by claiming the 2019 regular season and tournament championships. Weber earned his third ASUN Coach of the Year honor and led the Green and Blue to their third trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 78 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--