DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (14-8) earned the 2019 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship title after defeating UNF (14-11) by a score of 4-2 Sunday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. This is the third tournament crown for the Eagles (2015, 2017), who entered the weekend as the top seed after running the table in the regular season.

"This was an unbelievable match that fit in so perfect with an unbelievable season," head coach CJ Weber said. "UNF played really well today. If we weren't ready even just a little bit, they would be celebrating right now. These guys fought so hard from start to finish and nevre got discouraged, despite being down the majority of the match. We had to work extremely hard for the match to turn; but once it turned, we took hold and strangled the match from there. We had a death grip on that thing. It was another great team effort, and very well deserved for this bunch. I'm so happy and so proud of them."

The Ospreys jumped out over the Green and Blue in doubles play, snapping FGCU's eight-match streak of claiming the early point. Seniors Felipe Escobar (Pereira, Columbia / TCU) and Mateo Ruiz (Bucaramanga, Colombia / Oklahoma State) grabbed the first doubles match with a 6-4 win on the first court. An Osprey duo responded with a victory by the same score over the pair of junior Marcelo Tebet (Londrina, Brazil / Colégio Anglo Americano) and sophomore Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia) at the second flight.

On court three, UNF sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 win over juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania / Virginia Tech) and Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Colombia / Florida Virtual School) to post an initial 1-0 edge.

The Ospreys made it a 2-0 match with a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 triumph at the first flight. Despite falling into the early hole, Ramirez started the Eagle rally with their first point of the match after earning a 6-4, 6-3 victory on court No. 2. Senior Javier Fernandez (Ibiza, Spain / IES CTEIB) tied things up at 2-2 after winning his 11th-straight match at the sixth court.

Escobar forced his match on court three to go into three sets and eventually claimed a 6-1 win in the final block, putting the Eagles up 3-2 and on the verge of clinching the match.

The title came down to courts four and five, which were both in the midst of third-set battles. Tebet - who went on to be named Tournament MVP - eventually clinched his court and the championship for FGCU after a 7-5 third-set win at the fourth flight. Sakalauskas' match at the fifth flight went unfinished.

Montes joined Tebet on the All-Tournament Team.

In 2015, the Eagles also claimed a 4-3 victory over UNF to earn the ASUN Championship title. The Eagles swept both the ASUN Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the second time in school history (2015). This also marks the sixth overall league crown for the Green and Blue. FGCU has now won regular season championships in 2015, 2016 and 2019, while adding tournament titles in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

With the win, FGCU has clinched a spot in the 2019 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show will air at 6 p.m. Monday, April 29 and will broadcast live on NCAA.com. Details about a watch party for the Green and Blue will follow.

The opening two rounds will be held at host sites May 3-5, with super regional competition slated for the following weekend (May 10-11). The 2019 NCAA Championship will be contested May 16-19 at the USTA National Campus' Collegiate Center in Orlando.

Results
Singles competition
1. Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
2. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Dominik Barton (UNF) 6-4, 6-3
3. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) def. Till Von Winning (UNF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Nilo Duarte (UNF) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
5. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) vs. Jorge Nunez (UNF) 1-6, 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Federico Nani (UNF) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 6, 3, 4
 
Doubles competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Nilo Duarte/Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) 6-4
2. Jorge Nunez/Federico Nani (UNF) def. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-4
3. Dominik Barton/Till Von Winning (UNF) def. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

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 32 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his eighth year, Weber has compiled a 93-76 (.547) overall record and a 38-18 (.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 regular season in both 2015 and 2016, finishing 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 returned to the mountaintop by claiming the 2019 regular season and tournament championships. Weber earned his third ASUN Coach of the Year honor and led the Green and Blue to their third trip to the NCAA Tournament.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 77 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 36 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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