FORT MYERS, Fla.  – The FGCU men's tennis team (1-3) battled against cross-state rival FAU (5-4) Saturday evening, as the Eagles were narrowly defeated 4-3 at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
"Overall this match was exactly what we thought it would be," said head coach CJ Weber. "At the start of the doubles, the energy was really good and it came down to one point. We fought extremely hard and put ourselves in a position to win. We knew this was going to be a battle. I'm really proud of (Escobar) and (Ramirez) at the end for grinding it out and battling to still have an opportunity to win."
 
The Eagles rallied in doubles play to come away with the 1-0 lead. After being down on court No. 3, Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia/TCU) and Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colegio Anglo Americano) pulled through on court No. 2 with a 6-4 win, leaving the premiere court as the decisive match. It did not come easy for the Eagles, but the No. 1 tandem of Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Colombia/TCU) and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) came out on top 7-6 (7).
 
In singles play, Montes would go on to score another point for the Eagles in his match with a 6-1, 6-4 decision. With FGCU leading 2-1 after the point from Montes, FAU gained the lead with wins on courts No. 4 and No. 6. Not going away just yet, the Green and Blue received a huge lift from Escobar on court No. 3. After dropping the first set 3-6, Escobar rallied back in his next two sets, taking each one by a score of 6-3, tying the match 3-3.
 
All eyes turned onto the top court where Ramirez claimed his first set 7-6 (7-3). But FAU's Jason Legall bounced back to win the second set 6-1, eventually taking the final third set, 7-5.
 
UP NEXT
FGCU returns to the Nest for a match against ASUN rival UNF at 5 pm Feb. 16.
 
Singles competition
1. Jason Legall (FAU) def. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 7-5
2. Juan Montes (FGCU) def. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-1, 6-4
3. Felipe Escobar (FGCU) def. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) def. Feliksas Sakalauskas (FGCU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) def. Mateo Ruiz (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
6. A. Fernandez Horta (FAU) def. Javier Fernandez (FGCU) 7-6, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Felipe Escobar/Mateo Ruiz (FGCU) def. Ignacio Garcia/Jason Legall (FAU) 7-6
2. Juan Montes/Marcelo Tebet (FGCU) def. Mehdi Laalej/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-4
3. Kirac Bekisoglu/Thomas Guy (FAU) def. Felipe Ramirez/ Feliksas Sakalauskas (FGCU) 6-3
 
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 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 84-71 (.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.