FORT MYERS, FL – The FGCU women's tennis team (5-6) will host Gonzaga in a mid-week match Wednesday morning at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
The Green and Blue
FGCU is coming off a 6-1 victory over Lipscomb last Saturday afternoon to open up ASUN action. The Eagles captured each doubles point and continued their aggressive play into singles taking all but one match. Freshman
Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) claimed the clinching point on court No. 5 taking down her opponent in straight sets (6-2, 6-1). Overall,
Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) leads the team with six wins in dual play while Ferding is right behind her with five.
Gonzaga
The Zags enter the Nest with an overall 7-5 record but are in Boca Raton facing FAU Monday afternoon. In dual match play, Haruna Tsuruta leads the bunch with five wins all coming on court No. 2. Meanwhile, in doubles competition, Kate Ketels and Vlada Medvedcova have teamed up to produce four victories on the top court.
This will be the first meeting between both programs.
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.
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HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU's women's tennis team is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon (entering 7th season)
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 59 ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic honors, including 2014, 2016 and 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year as well as the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2018 Player of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to a 77-56 overall record (.581) and 32-8 conference record (.800).
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 81 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
