FORT MYERS, FL – The FGCU men's tennis team (3-3, 1-0 ASUN) defended home court claiming a 6-1 win over Bethune-Cookman (1-2).

"Today was overall a good day for us," head coach CJ Weber said. "We're playing much better in singles now so we need to keep focusing on developing that. I felt like Bethune-Cookman tested us well in doubles and at a few spots in singles, they definitely made us close out the matches. Now we have to shift our focus to a really tough Charlotte team on Sunday. I hope we can get another good crowd out there for that one."

In doubles play, the Eagles came away with the first point of the afternoon as they claimed the top two courts. Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colegio Anglo Americano) and Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia/TCU) teamed up to register a 6-4 decision, while the pairing of Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Virginia Tech) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) clinched it for the Eagles in a tough 7-5 battle. Court No. 3 was forfeited by BCU.

Going into singles FGCU gained another win as BCU forfeited the match on court No. 6.

The first match to finish in singles competition came on the premier court as Montes made it 3-0 FGCU with a 6-1, 6-3 decision. The triumph gives Montes his first win of the season on court No. 1 (1-2). Shortly after, Sakalauskas bumped FGCU's lead to 4-0, also taking down his counterpart in straight sets (6-4, 6-3), in the process clinching the match for the Eagles. On court No. 4, Tebet claimed FGCU's third straight-set victory, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win for the 5-0 advantage.   

After producing a 6-2 first set win, Ramirez suffered a 7-6 setback in the second set but responded back with a 10-7 third set tiebreaker to make it 6-0 FGCU. Freshman Pedro Maciel (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Goliath Academy) battled tough on court No. 5 but would fall in a tiebreaker in the third set, 11-9.

Up Next
It's a quick turnaround for the Eagles as they remain home to face Charlotte (3-7) at noon Sunday.

Singles competition
1. Juan Montes (FGCU) def. Victor Bravo (BCUM) 6-1, 6-3
2. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) def. Victor Castro (BCUM) 6-2, 6-7, 10-7
3. Feliksas Sakalauskas (FGCU) def. Phillip Lynch (BCUM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Marcelo Tebet (FGCU) def. Jose Plazas (BCUM) 6-4, 6-2
5. Juan Navarro (BCUM) def. Pedro Maciel (FGCU) 4-6, 7-6, 11-9
6. Nicolas Tibaudin (FGCU) def. No player (BCUM), by forfeit

Doubles competition
1. Juan Montes/Marcelo Tebet (FGCU) def. Victor Bravo/Phillip Lynch (BCUM) 6-4
2. Feliksas Sakalauskas/Felipe Ramirez (FGCU) def. Jose Plazas /Juan Navarro (BCUM) 7-5
3. Pedro Maciel/Javier Fernandez (FGCU) def. No player/No player (BCUM), by forfeit

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 86-71 (.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.