JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After picking up a 4-1 win over the North division's second-seed Lipscomb (9-7) in the ASUN semifinals, the FGCU men's tennis team (8-5) will advance to take on Liberty in Saturday morning's championship title match. The first serve is set for 9 AM and the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
For FGCU, ranked first in the South Division, the Green and Blue will be looking to defend its 2019 championship title after last season was cut short at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles will be looking to claim their fourth ASUN Championship title and are 3-0 all-time when reaching the finals.
"Today was another gritty win from the guys," said head coach
CJ Weber. "This team is tough - Lipscomb pushed us to the limits and forced us to compete from behind, but, once again, we responded. I'm super pumped for our oppotunity tomorrow and I can't wait to watch us compete again!"
In Friday's action, redshirt freshman
Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) was credited with the match-winning point as he won his No. 4 singles match-up against Lipscomb's Pedro Uribe with a pair of 6-3 scores in sets two and three.
The Eagles jumped on the board first as sophomore
Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) and redshirt freshman
Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./UCF) won at No. 1 doubles followed by redshirt junior
Juan Montes (Pereira, Columbia/Colegio Lujan) and redshirt senior
Felipe Ramirez (Armenia, Columbia/Florida Virtual School) at No. 2 doubles.
Lipscomb, ranked second in the North Division, tied the score with the first singles win of the day taking the No. 6 match-up.
Redshirt freshman
Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) won a three-set No. 3 match (4-6, 6-3, 6-3), while Montes pushed the Eagles lead to 3-1 with a dramatic 7-6 (8-6 tiebreaker) second set win following a 6-2 first set.
Liberty won the day's opening semifinal match 4-1 over the South's third-seed Kennesaw State advancing to Saturday's championship.
2021 ASUN Tennis Championships - #2N Lipscomb vs #1S FGCU
4/23/2021 at Jacksonville, Fla. - (UNF Tennis Complex)
|
|
#1S FGCU |
|
#2N Lipscomb |
|
|
| |
4
|
|
1
|
|
|
| #1 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| CAFFARENA, Pablo, #2N Lipscomb |
2
|
6
|
0
|
|
| JOHNSON, Magnus, #1S FGCU |
6
|
3
|
4
|
|
|
| #2 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| ORTEGON, Jorge, #2N Lipscomb |
2
|
6
|
|
Order of finish: 2 |
| MONTES, Juan, #1S FGCU |
6
|
7
|
|
|
|
| #3 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| BOGDANOVICH, Maksim, #2N Lipscomb |
6
|
3
|
3
|
Order of finish: 3 |
| WILSON, Randy, #1S FGCU |
4
|
6
|
6
|
|
|
| #4 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| URIBE, Pedro, #2N Lipscomb |
6
|
2
|
1
|
Order of finish: 4 |
| STEFANACCI, Gugli, #1S FGCU |
4
|
6
|
6
|
|
|
| #5 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| GARCIA-NIETO, Gon., #2N Lipscomb |
6
|
1
|
3
|
|
| CONCA, Alessandro, #1S FGCU |
4
|
6
|
4
|
|
|
| #6 SINGLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| SALAS-TULLA, Carlos, #2N Lipscomb |
6
|
6
|
|
Order of finish: 1 |
| MACIEL, Pedro, #1S FGCU |
4
|
4
|
|
|
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| #1 DOUBLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| ORTEGON, Jorge/URIBE, Pedro, #2N Lipscomb |
1
|
|
|
Order of finish: 1 |
| DAMM, Max/JOHNSON, Magnus, #1S FGCU |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| #2 DOUBLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| BOGDANOVICH, Maksim/CAFFARENA, Pablo, #2N Lipscomb |
2
|
|
|
Order of finish: 2 |
| MONTES, Juan/RAMIREZ, Felipe, #1S FGCU |
6
|
|
|
|
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| #3 DOUBLES |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Notes |
| GARCIA-NIETO, Gon./PENNY, Jake, #2N Lipscomb |
4
|
|
|
|
| WILSON, Randy/ONCINS, Eric, #1S FGCU |
3
|
|
|
|
|
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 104-86 (.541) overall record and a 43-19 (.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.
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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.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
