FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's team officially kicks off its 2021 season welcoming the FIU Panthers at the FGCU Tennis Complex, the beginning of FIVE-straight matches the Eagles will be hosting. The contest will be open to fans at a limited capacity.
To promote social distancing, fans are encouraged to bring their own foldable chairs or other forms of outdoor seating. All attendees must wear masks at all times and will be required to adhere to CDC guidelines.
The Green and Blue
The Eagles will have the luxury of having their top singles player return this season in
Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping). Before the season was cut short, the Sweden native collected four singles wins along with five victories in doubles play.
Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) led the team as a freshman in 2020 with six dual victories as five of those came on court no. 5.
FIU
The Panthers travel to Southwest Florida after posting an 8-2 record last season. Basak Akbas and Kamila Umarova are ranked 59th in doubles entering the year as the duo earned eight victories last year, going undefeated in conference play. Over the summer, FIU's recruiting class was ranked 21st – second among mid-major programs, only behind San Diego. This will also be FIU's season opener.
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.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU's women's tennis team is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon (8th 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 77-57 overall record (.575) and 32-8 conference record (.800).
#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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 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 (No. 24, 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each 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.
