FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (4-4, 2-1 ASUN) won in convincing fashion Saturday afternoon as the Eagles dominated Stetson (6-6, 1-2 ASUN) with a final score of 7-0.
"The ladies battled really hard today," said head coach
Courtney Vernon. "It started in doubles with some close matches. Ida and Sofia really stepped up on court two while Emma and Maja got it done on court one so that gave us some good momentum going into singles. They came out, played with a lot of energy, passion, and never let up. Stetson is a good team, we always know it's going to be a tough match against them. We're really thankful to get the result today and we're going to keep working."
Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) and
Emma Bardet (Vichy, France/Long Beach State) claimed the top court in doubles, producing a 6-3 win to get the Eagles going. Court three was in a tight battle but on court two,
Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual School) and
Ida Ferding (Vastera, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) fought back from a 4-5 deficit to come out on top, 7-5, giving FGCU the doubles point.
From there, the momentum stayed on the Green and Blue's side with Bardet snagging the first singles triumph on court No. 2 (6-0, 6-1). Moments later,
Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/ La Anunciata) made it 3-0 FGCU claiming a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court No. 6. The clinching point arrived on court No. 3 as
Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) produced a 6-2, 6-3 win to make it 4-0 FGCU.
Ferding and Perez continued to roll in singles, as they each cruised in two sets. Ferding finished first on court No. 5 (6-3, 6-4) while Perez went on to her first victory of the year, claiming a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court No. 4. On the top court, Ornberg claimed her first set, 6-2 but battled back in her second set to tie it 5-5 before walking away with a 7-5 win in the second set to end the match.
Up Next
FGCU will remain home and host Tulane (9-7) Wednesday at 10 a.m. for its final non-conference match.
Singles competition
1. ORNBERG, Maja (FGCU) def. Gabriel, Anais (STET) 6-2, 7-5
2. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Ashirova, Danel (STET) 6-0, 6-1
3. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Kubicz, Katie (STET) 6-2, 6-3
4. PEREZ, Sofia (FGCU) def. Milner, Brooke (STET) 6-3, 6-2
5. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Cohen, Noa (STET) 6-3, 6-4
6. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Foster, Elodie (STET) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. ORNBERG, Maja/BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Ashirova, Danel/Foster, Elodie (STET) 6-3
2. PEREZ, Sofia/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Kubicz, Katie/Milner, Brooke (STET) 7-5
3. RAMALLE, Lourdes/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) vs. Cohen, Noa/Gabriel, Anais (STET) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,6,3,5,4,1)
ASUN Standings
South Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
North Florida |
2-0 |
10-6 |
| 2. |
FGCU |
2-1 |
4-4 |
| 3. |
Stetson |
1-2 |
6-6 |
| 4. |
Kennesaw State |
0-2 |
5-8 |
North Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
Liberty |
2-0 |
12-4 |
| 2. |
Lipscomb |
1-1 |
6-7 |
| 3. |
North Alabama |
1-1 |
5-9 |
| 4. |
Bellarmine |
0-2 |
0-12 |
Recent Results (Saturday, Mar. 27)
Marshall def. Liberty, 4-3.
Upcoming Matches (Sunday, Mar. 28)
Liberty @ Bellarmine (10am)
North Alabama @ Lipscomb (5pm)
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 an 81-61 overall record (.570) and 34-9 conference record (.790).
#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 85 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 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.
