FORT MYERS, Fla. – Both FGCU tennis programs are back in action this week as the men's team (1-2) host rival FAU for their home opener Saturday afternoon at 5 pm. Meanwhile, the women's team (2-2) will square off on the road against No. 20 FSU at 10 am.
Last Time Out
The men are coming off a split against Grand Canyon and Sacramento State. Versus GCU, the Eagles battled closely in doubles but would fall on courts No. 1 and No. 2, each 6-4.
Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) won his match 3-6, 7-5 as his counterpart retired due to injury on court No. 5 as FGCU fell to GCU 6-1. The following day, the Green and Blue bounced back winning a 5-2 match against Sacramento State. FGCU clinched the doubles point securing wins on the top two courts, with
Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia/Oklahoma State) and
Ezequiel Cerrini (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Homeschool) each adding a win in both doubles and singles.
On the women's side, the Green and Blue took down Middle Tennessee and FAU last weekend 5-2 in both matches. In the match against cross-state foe FAU, the Eagles took all three doubles matches for the first time all season as senior
Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) continued her strong play into singles where she is now 4-1 on court No. 3.
Scouting the Owls
FAU boasts a 4-4 mark, and are coming off a 1-4 loss to No. 4 Florida at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Despite falling to Florida, their doubles team of Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia along with Gabriel Sidney and Mehdi Laalej helped the Owls clinch the doubles point. Luis Labarta leads the Owls with a record of 7-2 in his last 10 matches, additionally, Alvaro Horta is on a three-match win streak with a 6-2 record in his last 10 appearances.
Scouting the Seminoles
A week removed from its last outing, FSU is 4-1 overall with a with No. 20 ranking in the latest Oracle ITA Poll. FSU has three individuals ranked nationally in singles play – No. 49 Carly Touly, No, 103 Ana Oparenovic and No. 110 Emmanuelle Salas. Touly is currently 3-1 on the premier court while Salas is 4-0 on court No. 3. FSU has yet to drop a doubles point as they are 11-2 this season on all courts.
Up Next
The women's program will travel to Houston for a match on Feb. 15., while the men's side will stay at home and start ASUN play hosting UNF on Feb. 16.
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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 84-70 (.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.
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 64-44 overall record (.592) and 27-5 conference record (.827) in her six years at FGCU.
