JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (4-5, 3-1 ASUN) competed until the very last point, but ultimately came out on the losing side of a 4-3 battle against Kennesaw State (5-10, 1-2 ASUN) on Friday afternoon at the UNF Tennis Complex. With the result of the neutral site match, the Owls were able to even up this year's results between the teams at 1-1.

"This is a tough match to swallow," head coach CJ Weber said. "In all honesty, Kennesaw played great, fought hard, and deserved the win today. We were missing one small thing today, and that was just enough to crack the door open for Kennesaw to beat us. We will learn from it and hopefully we can grow and become better because of this loss."

Though the Owls were able to pick up the doubles match on the second court, the Eagles bounced back with strong performances at the first and third spots to claim the early advantage. The duo of redshirt-freshman Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) and freshman Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) earned a 6-2 result at the third spot, leaving the point to be decided by the top court. Redshirt-freshman Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) and sophomore Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal School) delivered, securing a 6-4 victory to hand FGCU a 1-0 edge.

Kennesaw State then picked up back-to-back singles wins at the second and third spots, taking a 2-1 lead, before Johnson was able to stop the scoring and tie things up with his 6-4, 6-2 result on court No. 1. Stefanacci's straight-set result on the sixth court put FGCU on the verge of clinching at 3-2, but the Owls' victories on courts five and four boosted them to the final 4-3 decision.

Both freshman Alessandro Conca (Milan, Italy/ISMC Milano) and senior Feliksas Sakalauskas (Palanga, Lithuania/Vilniaus Zveryno Gimnazija/Virginia Tech) had tight matches, as they took their respective Kennesaw State opponents into three sets.

With the result, the Owls were able to avenge the 1-6 loss they suffered at the hands of FGCU earlier this season (March 20). That victory was the 100th of Weber's career.

FGCU will continue its road swing tomorrow with a 3 p.m. match at Stetson. The Eagles defeated the Hatters 4-3 earlier this year, behind a clinching performance from Wilson in singles play.

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. Sebastian Osorio (KSUM) 6-4, 6-2
2. Raul Garcia (KSUM) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Sergio Ingles (KSUM) def. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Kevin Patel (KSUM) def. CONCA, Alessandro (FGCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Gaston Muhammad (KSUM) def. SAKALAUSKAS, Feliks (FGCU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) def. Harvey Conway (KSUM) 7-5, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 6, 5, 4

Doubles competition
1. JOHNSON, Magnus/DAMM, Max (FGCU) def. Seru Tezuka/Sergio Ingles (KSUM) 6-4
2. Raul Garcia/Harvey Conway (KSUM) def. MONTES, Juan/STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) 6-2
3. WILSON, Randy/ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) def. Kevin Patel/Sebastian Osorio (KSUM) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings
1. FGCU (4-5, 3-1 ASUN)
2. UNF (6-8, 2-1 ASUN)
3. Kennesaw State (5-10, 1-2 ASUN)
4. Stetson (2-6, 0-2 ASUN)

North Division Standings
1. Liberty (14-6, 4-0 ASUN)
2. Lipscomb (6-6, 2-2 ASUN)
3. North Alabama (4-10, 2-2 ASUN)
4. Bellarmine (3-17, 0-4 ASUN)

Recent Results
Thursday, April 1
No. 40 Liberty 6, Lipscomb 1
UNF 4, Stetson 3
North Alabama 4, Bellarmine 3

Friday, April 2
Kennesaw State 4, FGCU 3

Upcoming Matches
Saturday, April 3
North Alabama at No. 40 Liberty - 2 p.m.
Kennesaw State at UNF - 3 p.m.
Lipscomb at Bellarmine - 3 p.m.
FGCU at Stetson - 3 p.m. 

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 101-86 (.541) overall record and a 41-19 (.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. 

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!
 
#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.
 
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