FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (7-6) took down Kennesaw State (6-13) after dropping the doubles point en route to the 4-2 win Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

With the win, the Eagles advance to the ASUN semifinals next weekend being held at North Florida to face the top seed out of the North, Liberty (18-6).

The match is set for 2:30 p.m.

"The ladies fought hard today!" said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We are continuing to make steps and trusting the game plan. We're looking forward to playing our next match. A special thank you to Bonita Bay for coming out today. They've consistently shown us support  and it was a gift having them in attendance."

The No. 1 tandem of Emma Bardet (Vichy, France/Long Beach State) and Maja Ornberg (Kil, Sweden/De la Gardiegymnasiet, Lidkoping) captured the first doubles court but KSU snagged the momentum and took the final two for the 1-0 lead. Transitioning into singles action, Sofia Perez (Alajuela, Costa Rica/Florida Virtual) quickly tied the match in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) as Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/ La Anunciata) gave FGCU a 2-1 lead after her win on court No. 6 (6-3, 6-2).

KSU though, tied the match, taking the win on court No. 1 but Ida Ferding (Vastera, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) claimed her match on court No. 4 (7-5, 6-4), pushing the Eagles' lead back to one (3-2). The finishing touches arrived on court No. 3 in a three-set thriller from Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School). The freshman dropped her first set, 2-6 before storming back with scores of 6-1 and 6-2 to clinch the match for the Eagles.

Singles competition
1. Ji Youn Lee (KSU) def. ORNBERG, Maja (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
2. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) vs. Taylor Dean (KSU) 4-6, 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
3. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Paola Cortez (KSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Valentina Taddia (KSU) 7-5, 6-4
5. PEREZ, Sofia (FGCU) def. Soomin Kim (KSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Sofia Pinedo (KSU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. BARDET, Emma/ORNBERG, Maja (FGCU) def. Paola Cortez/Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-2
2. Ji Youn Lee/Valentina Taddia (KSU) def. PEREZ, Sofia/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 6-2
3. Soomin Kim/Sofia Pinedo (KSU) def. RETORTILLO, Alba/NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,1,4,3)


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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 (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 84-63 overall record (.571) and 36-10 conference record (.782).

#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.