FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (5-8, 1-0 ASUN) dropped a 4-1 decision to Georgia State (8-8, 0-0 Sun Belt) in a battle against the conditions at the FGCU Tennis Complex. The teams were only able to fit in doubles play on the scheduled match day of Wednesday, March 20 before the rest of play was suspended due to rain. The match was resumed and completed Thursday morning.

"Georgia State got up on us early, and we just couldn't quite dig ourselves out of the hole," head coach CJ Weber said. "The doubles point proved to be valuable again and I think Georgia State was the sharper team to get that point. As we move into conference season now, we just have to look to get rid of a few of our inconsistencies and finish the season learning the lessons that have been provided to us so far."

The Panthers got off to a solid start and claimed the doubles match on court one, followed by a victory on court three. At the time doubles play was called, the duo of Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia) and Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colégio Anglo Americano) was knotted up at 4-4 at the second court. After doubles play, the match was temporarily suspended and Georgia State took its 1-0 edge into the break.

Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) grabbed the first point of the day during singles play Thursday morning after earning a straight-set victory at court No. 6. Fernandez' 6-2, 6-2 win was the only one of the match for the Green and Blue.

The Panthers picked up wins on courts three, two and five en route to claiming the match. Both sides had agreed ahead of time to end the match whenever a team got to four points. At that time, Montes was leading his competitor 7-5, 5-2 at the first flight and Tebet (3-6, 5-4) was battling back after dropping his first set on court four.

Results
Singles competition
1. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) vs. Hussey,Giles (GSU) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
 2. Subladze,Vazha (GSU) def. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Showers,Bailey (GSU) def. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
4. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) vs. Coulaud,Quentin (GSU) 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Duarte,Andrei (GSU) def. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Huynh,Kevin (GSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 5

Doubles competition
1. Hussey,Giles/MacFarlane,Jack (GSU) def. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) 6-2
2. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) vs. Showers,Bailey/Coulaud,Quentin (GSU) 4-4, unfinished
3. Duarte,Andrei/Huynh,Kevin (GSU) def. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3

Up Next
The Eagles will take on ASUN conference foe NJIT (4-9, 0-1 ASUN) at the FGCU Tennis Complex on Saturday, March 23. The match against the Highlanders will start at 5 p.m. and marks FGCU's second conference matchup of the year. The Green and Blue earned a 5-2 win at home over UNF in February. This will be the seventh meeting between the two teams; FGCU currently holds a 4-2 advantage. 

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 87-76 (.533) overall record and a 32-18 (.640) 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