FORT MYERS, FL – Coming off a thrilling ASUN win over Liberty Sunday, the FGCU women's team (6-6, 1-1 ASUN) resumes its non-conference slate, hosting Big 10 foe Wisconsin at 5 p.m., Wednesday evening at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Last Time Out
Down 3-1 at one point, the Eagles rallied back to down Liberty, 4-3. After conceding the doubles point and the first singles match, FGCU trailed Liberty 2-0 before its first win on court No. 3. On that flight, senior
Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva) produced a 6-4, 6-3 win to get on the board. The Flames claimed one more match (court No. 2) but FGCU would capture the next two for the 3-3 tie.
Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) (7-5, 6-3) and
Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe) (2-6, 6-1, 6-2) collected the victories to shift everyone's attention to court No. 4.
Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) clinched the come-from-behind victory for the Eagles. After falling down 6-4 in her first set the junior bounced to produce a 6-3 second set and a final 6-4 set for the 4-3 FGCU triumph.
ITA Top-50 Ranking
In the ITA/Oracle Women's Poll released on Feb. 26, the Eagles came in ranked at No. 50. It marked the first time in program history the Green and Blue received a spot inside the top-50.
Scouting the Badgers
Wisconsin enters the Nest with 10-2 overall record, going 3-0 in the Big 10. The Badgers have a pair of nationally ranked players in No. 44 Sara Castellano and No. 72 Lexi Keberle. Castellano holds a 12-0 record on the top flight while Keberle is 10-2 out of the No. 2 slot. Meanwhile, the tandem is 1-3 in doubles on court No. 1 as Anna Makarova and Melissa Pick own a 2-0 record on the second flight.
This will be the second Big 10 opponent the Eagles face this season as they fell to Iowa, 5-2, on Mar. 10. This will be the first meeting between FGCU and Wisconsin.
Up Next
FGCU will welcome NJIT (12-2, 1-0 ASUN) for a match at 5 p.m. this Saturday at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date coverage of FGCU women's tennis, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available.
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 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 67-48 overall record (.582) and 28-6 conference record (.824) in her six years at FGCU.
