FORT MYERS, Fla. – Following a three and a half hour delay due to wet courts from rain before the 5 p.m. start time, the FGCU women's tennis team (9-9, 4-3 ASUN) blanked Kennesaw State (2-17, 1-6 ASUN) 4-0 Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"I was pleased how the ladies came out in doubles and competed, they had a lot of energy," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "Having a three and a half hour delay is never easy but going into singles they kept the momentum up and got the job done. It was a good win to end the regular season especially on senior night."

Before the match, the Eagles honored its three seniors in Julia Ascúa (Santa Fe, Argentina/Domingo G. Silva), Laura Falceto-Font (Zaragoza, Spain/El Pilar Maristas Zaragoza), and Patricia Villar (Logrono, Spain/Bachillerato Santa Maria/Louisiana Monroe). The team also recognized junior Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, FL/Florida Virtual School) as it is her last season of competition. 

Right away the Eagles got out in front taking the doubles point. The No. 1 team of Ascúa and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) cruised to a 6-0 win picking up their ninth doubles win of the season. Shortly after, Sara Kelly (Naples, FL/Virtual School) and Villar claimed a 6-2 victory to secure the point for the Green and Blue.

In singles competition, Ascúa claimed the first victory for FGCU downing her counterpart with a pair of 6-1 sets on court No. 3. Kelly then made it a 3-0 match on court No. 2 taking both her sets in 6-0 decisions.  Forster then officially gave the Eagles the match on court No. 5 with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph to send the squad home with win heading into the ASUN Tournament next week.

Singles competition
1. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) vs. Juliana Castellanos (KSU) 6-1, 4-1, unfinished
2. Sara Kelly (FGCU) def. Elle Baker (KSU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Julia Ascúa (FGCU) def. Zoe Wende (KSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Patricia Villar (FGCU) vs. Aspen Jarrett (KSU) 5-6, unfinished
5. Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Jessica Cantrell (KSU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Laura Falceto-Font (FGCU) vs. Brenna Reilly (KSU) 7-6 (7-3), unfinished

Order of finish: (3,2,5)

Doubles competition
1. Julia Ascúa/Maja Ornberg (FGCU) def. Aspen Jarrett/Jessica Cantrell (KSU) 6-0
2. Sara Kelly/Patricia Villar (FGCU) def. Emory Ann Phillips/Juliana Castellanos (KSU) 6-2
3. Laura Falceto-Font/Bridget Forster (FGCU) def. Zoe Wende/Brenna Reilly (KSU) 4-3

Order of finish: (1,2)

Up Next
The fourth-seeded Eagles will take on fifth-seeded Stetson (12-8, 3-4 ASUN) at 9 a.m. Thursday, Apr. 18 in the ASUN Tournament which is being held on the Hatters' campus in DeLand, Fla.

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 70-51 overall record (.579) and 31-8 conference record (.795) in her six years at FGCU.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 76 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 35 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport.  The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runner-ups for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.