FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (12-8, 7-0 ASUN) earned a 4-1 victory over Kennesaw State (10-12, 4-3 ASUN) on Senior Day Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex to close out the regular season. With the win, the Eagles now stand alone as the only undefeated team in the conference and are officially the 2019 ASUN Men's Tennis Regular Season Champions.

"I just want to thank the four seniors and everything they have done for our team during their time here," head coach CJ Weber said. "I could not be more proud of them and thankful for all that they have done for us. I am hoping that we have a few more weeks of playing tennis with them."

The Eagles started off the match by continuing their dominance in doubles play by claiming the point for the seventh match in a row. The duo of seniors Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira/TCU) and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramagna, Colombia/Oklahoma State) celebrated their last match at the Nest with a 6-3 win on court one. Junior Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil/Colégio Anglo Americano) and sophomore Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia) secured the point with a 6-3 win at the second flight.

Juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Virginia Tech) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia/Florida Virtual School) were ahead of their competitors 5-4 at court No. 3 when the doubles point was earned.

In between doubles and singles play, head coach CJ Weber recognized members of the class of 2019 – Ezequiel Cerrini, Felipe Escobar, Javier Fernandez and Mateo Ruiz – for their accomplishments in their time as Eagles.

Ruiz continued to excel on the courts as he raced to a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the sixth flight to start off singles play. Kennesaw responded with its first point of the night when Lucas de Torres Curth defeated Escobar at the second court, making it a 2-1 match.

Senior Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain/IES CTEIB) picked up his ninth-straight win when he won the third set on court No. 5, putting the Green and Blue on the edge of clinching the match. After dropping the first set, Sakalauskas claimed the next two on court four to officially hand FGCU the win and, consequently, the outright regular season title.

At the time the match was clinched, Montes and Ramirez were still battling through singles play. Montes was staging a comeback at the first flight after dropping the third set and Ramirez was two points away from winning at court No. 2. 

The title is the third regular season championship for the Green and Blue. The Eagles also went undefeated in league play in both 2015 and 2016.

Results
Singles competition
1. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) vs. Fermin Calvo Barcelo (KSU) 3-6, 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
2. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) vs. Lucas deTorres Curth (KSU) 7-6 (9-7), 4-3, unfinished
3. Bryan Triana (KSU) def. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
4. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) def. Sebastian Osorio (KSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Gaston Muhammad (KSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Jose Galvez (KSU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 5, 4

Doubles competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Harvey Maughan/Lucas deTorres Curth (KSU) 6-3
2. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) def. Fermin Calvo Barcelo/Drew Lahey (KSU) 6-3
3. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Bryan Triana/Jose Galvez (KSU) 5-4
Order of finish: 1, 2

Up Next
FGCU will compete in the 2019 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship Thursday, April 18 – Saturday, April 20 at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center in DeLand. The team will enter as the No. 1 seed and play the winner of No. 4 Kennesaw State vs. No. 5 Stetson. The Eagles will be looking for their third tournament crown (2015, 2017).

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 92-76 (.547) overall record and a 37-18 (.672) 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 a perfect ASUN season in both 2015 and 2016, finshing with conference titles as well as a Coach of the Year honor for Weber. FGCU again won the 2017 ASUN Championship and made its second NCAA appearance. The Eagles recently returned to the mountaintop by claiming the 2019 regular-season championship. 
 
#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 34 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.
 
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