FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (4-5) fell to Tulane, (9-9), 4-3, Wednesday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
"Tulane is a very good team and they competed on each court today and that was the difference," said head coach
Courtney Vernon. "I want to thank all of our supporters that came out this morning, we're thankful to have them at our matches."
FGCU started strong in doubles play as the team of
Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) and
Emma Bardet (Vichy, France/Long Beach State) claimed the top court in 6-3 fashion. Moments later, the duo of
Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/ La Anunciata) and
Lourdes Ramalle (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Portland) clinched the point on court No. 3 with a 6-2 decision.
Up 1-0 transitioning into singles action, Tulane tied the contest taking court No. 6 but
Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) was able to regain FGCU's lead with a three-set victory on court No. 2 (4-6, 6-1, 6-2). The back-and-forth scores continued with Tulane then snagging court No. 4 before Ramalle bumped her season record to 2-0 on court No. 5 with a three-set victory (6-0, 2-6, 6-3). Court No. 3 also went to three sets as the Green Wave tied the match 3-3.
The final decision turned to the top court where Ornberg fought back after dropping her first set to win the second set, 7-5, but Tulane's Mackenzie Clark edged the Sweden native in the third set, 6-4.
Up Next
FGCU will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to face Kennesaw State Friday at 10 a.m. before heading down to DeLand, Fla., to take on Stetson Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Singles competition
1. Mackenzie Clark (TLN) def. ORNBERG, Maja (FGCU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
2. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. M.C. Meredith (TLN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Lahari Yelamanchili (TLN) def. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 7-6 (12-10), 1-6, 6-0
4. Adelaide Lavery (TLN) def. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. RAMALLE, Lourdes (FGCU) def. Kristen Borland (TLN) 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
6. Cora Barber (TLN) def. WIRA, Jessica (FGCU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. ORNBERG, Maja/BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. M.C. Meredith/Mackenzie Clark (TLN) 6-3
2. PEREZ, Sofia/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) vs. Adelaide Lavery/Kristen Borland (TLN) 2-5, unfinished
3. RAMALLE, Lourdes/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Lahari Yelamanchili/Charlotte Russell (TLN) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,2,4,5,3,1)
ASUN Standings
South Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
North Florida |
2-0 |
11-6 |
| 2. |
FGCU |
2-1 |
4-5 |
| 3. |
Stetson |
1-2 |
6-6 |
| 4. |
Kennesaw State |
0-3 |
5-9 |
North Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
Liberty |
2-0 |
13-4 |
| 2. |
Lipscomb |
2-1 |
7-7 |
| 3. |
North Alabama |
1-2 |
5-10 |
| 4. |
Bellarmine |
0-3 |
0-13 |
Upcoming Matches (Thursday, Apr. 1)
Stetson @ North Florida (11am)
Lipscomb @ Liberty (11am)
North Alabama @ Bellarmine (11am)
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 81-62 overall record (.566) 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.
