TAMPA, Fla. – Despite earning an early advantage, the FGCU men's tennis team (0-2) dropped a 2-5 decision to USF (2-2) on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Courts up in Tampa. The Eagles earned points from doubles play, as well as redshirt-freshman Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF), who is now 2-0 on the season at the top singles flight.  

Along with the excitement of Johnson's continued success, the match was highlighted by the duo of redshirt-sophomore Pedro Maciel (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Goliath Academy) and redshirt-freshman Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville), who took down the nationally-ranked pair of Bollipallo and Wojcik (No. 21 in the ITA Preseason Poll) in doubles.

"Today was overall a very good day of competition," head coach CJ Weber said. "USF is a great team, but every guy on our team that had the opportunity to compete today capitalized on it. We worked hard, but at the end of the day, USF was just better. I was very impressed with our performance in doubles. We shook things up with our lineup and two of our three pairings had never even played together. Pedro (Maciel) and Randy (Wilson) beat a nationally-ranked team that made the finals of our regional tournament two years ago, which was really exciting. I am looking forward to getting back to our training."

The Eagles' early win in doubles play marked the second time that the team has achieved the feat in the history against the Bulls. The pairing of Johnson and sophomore Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal School) put FGCU in position to do so with a 6-4 victory on the second court. Their effort was quickly followed by Maciel and Wilson's heroics, as they downed the ranked USF pair, 6-4, at the top spot. With the win, FGCU earned a 1-0 advantage to start things off.

Though the initial momentum did favor the Green & Blue, USF quickly responded in singles play with back-to-back wins at the fifth and sixth courts. Freshman Alessandro Conca (Milan, Italy/ISMC Milano) and Wilson tried to hold the Bulls off, but ultimately dropped their matches at courts No. 3 and 2, respectively. Wilson's loss allowed USF to clinch the match at 4-1, though he had been battling back against his opponent.

Johnson then answered USF's push with a straight-set victory on the top court. After earning a 6-4 result in the first frame, he solidified his win with a 6-3 score in the second. His performance awarded FGCU its second point of the afternoon, but the Bulls quickly claimed court No. 4 to earn their final margin of victory.

With today's match against USF behind them, the Eagles will now set their sights on an upcoming contest against FAU. The action against the Owls will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13 in Boca Raton. It will be a part of an overall four-match road swing for FGCU, as the team is not scheduled to compete at The Nest again until March 11 against South Alabama. In addition to the outings against USF and FAU, the Eagles' in-state circuit will feature stops at UCF (Feb. 26) and Miami (Feb. 27).

For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MTen and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU men's tennis or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

Results
Singles competition
1. JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) def. Ivan Yatsuk (USF) 6-4, 6-3
2. Jakub Wojcik (USF) def. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Pierre Luquet (USF) def. CONCA, Alessandro (FGCU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF) def. STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) 7-6, 6-2
5. Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) def. ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Manuel Goncalves (USF) def. DAMM, Max (FGCU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 2, 1, 4

Doubles competition
1. MACIEL, Pedro/WILSON, Randy (FGCU) def. #21 Jakub Wojcik/Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) 6-4
2. JOHNSON, Magnus/DAMM, Max (FGCU) def. Ivan Yatsuk/Pierre Luquet (USF) 6-4
3. ONCINS, Eric/STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) def. Sergio Gomez Montesa/Manuel Goncalves (USF) 5-4
Order of finish: 2, 1
CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year CJ Weber, who has coached 32 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his seventh year, Weber has compiled a 97-84 (.541) 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. 

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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 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 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 3.43 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. 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.
 
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