FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (6-8, 2-0 ASUN) earned its second conference win of the season with a decisive 7-0 victory over the NJIT Highlanders (4-10, 0-2 ASUN) Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"Everyone did a great job today and we were able to get up on them early and never let go," head coach CJ Weber said. "A lot of times when you get up early in matches, players can lose focus but we didn't do that. Everyone was disciplined and we took care of business. Playing matches at the same as the women provides a unique atmosphere. Not many programs have 12 courts to be able to do that. I think it's a really fun environment, especially when he have a bunch of fans. It's nice for (women's head coach Courtney Vernon) and I to look around and see fans cheering on our programs."

The Eagles secured an early advantage over the Highlanders after clinching the point in doubles play. The duo of Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia) and Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colégio Anglo Americano) was the first to finish, defeating its NJIT competitors 6-2 on court two. Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) and Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Virginia Tech) sealed the point for FGCU with a 6-2 triumph at the third flight.

The match at the first court featuring Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira/TCU) and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramagna, Colombia/Oklahoma State) went unfinished with a 4-3 Eagle advantage.  

Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) continued his recent string of success at the sixth flight and claimed a 6-0, 6-0 straight-set victory. Sakalauskas immediately followed up with a win in two sets at court No. 5 to put the Eagles up 3-0.

Tebet dug out the Green and Blue's third straight-set win of the night, claiming court No. 4 with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Montes tacked on to the lead with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the first flight.

Escobar earned the final point of the night for FGCU with a tiebreak victory in his second set on the third court. Tonight's triumph marks the first time all season that the Eagles have shut out their opponent. The last time that the Green and Blue blanked an opponent was a 7-0 win against Georgia Southern in February 2017.

Results
Singles competition
1. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) def. Tomi Antoljak (NJIT) 6-3, 6-1
2. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Lukas Zvikas (NJIT) 6-2, 6-1
3. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) def. Abdullah Fouad (NJIT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
4. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Zac Castagna (NJIT) 6-2, 6-3
5. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) def. George Svensson (NJIT) 6-0, 6-1
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Juan Bejarano (NJIT) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 5, 2, 4, 1, 3

Doubles competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) vs. Tomi Antoljak/Zac Castagna (NJIT) 4-3, unfinished
2. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) def. Lukas Zvikas/George Svensson (NJIT) 6-2
3. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Abdullah Fouad/Juan Bejarano (NJIT) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3

Up Next 
The Eagles will continue their long home swing with a match against the Brown Bears next Thursday, March 28. Doubles play will begin at 5 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex. This will be the second-ever meeting between the Eagles and the Bears. The last time the teams met was a 6-1 victory for Brown at the FGCU Tennis Complex in 2011.

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 88-76 (.536) overall record and a 33-18 (.647) 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 appearance in program history.