TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The FGCU men's tennis team returned to action on Thursday for day one of the ITA Southeast Regionals.
"Our region is one of the toughest in the country," said head coach CJ Weber. "There are a lot of really good players here and while we didn't get all the results we wanted, I am proud of the way they all fought. Stefannacci and Oncins won tough three setters and then had to come back for another match which proved to be maybe be a little too much. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when a couple more of our guys get on the court."
The day got started with singles qualifying where three Eagles were looking to earn their way into the main draw. Junior Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) and redshirt-junior Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) each earned wins in the first round before falling in the second round of qualifying. Redshirt-juniors Juan Lopez (Gachancipa, Colombia/Colegio Virtual Siglio XXI) dropped his first match of the day.
The main draw of singles gets started tomorrow with redshirt-juniors Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF), Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) and Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) all in action.
In the secondary singles round robin event, senior Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) picked up a straight-sets win over Alexandre Hillhouse of Stetson while redshirt-senior Carter Bradford (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Preparatory School/George Mason) fell to Felipe Costa of Georgia. Both players will have another match tomorrow and two on Saturday.
In doubles, three pairs of Eagles started competition on Thursday, but ultimately fell in the first round. The Eagles will have one more crack at it in doubles as Damm and Johnson got a bye into the round of 32 and will begin tomorrow.
Courts for tomorrow are still to be determined with matches played on South Courts 1-4 and 6 available to stream here.
Thursday Results
Singles Qualifying
1st Round
Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) def. Angel Guerrero (GT), 6-4, 5-7, 10-4
Eric Oncins (FGCU) def. Robert Bauer (GT), 6-2, 2-6, 10-7
Quinn Snyder (UCF) def. Juan Lopez (FGCU), 6-4, 6-3
2nd Round
Gerard Escandell (FAU) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU), 6-3, 7-6 (6)
Bruno Vietri (UNF) def. Eric Oncins (FGCU), 6-2, 6-1
Consolation
Jackson Armisted (Miami) def. Juan Lopez (FGCU), 6-2, 6-3
Secondary Singles Round Robin
Max Damm (FGCU) def. Alexandre Hillhouse (Stetson), 6-3, 6-2
Felipe Costa (UGA) def. Carter Bradford (FGCU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw
Chopra/Bauer (GT) def. Stefanacci/Sepulveda (FGCU), 8-7 (4)
Shokry/McDaniel (GT) def. Oncins/Wilson (FGCU), 8-6
Stefanovic/Dini (Mercer) def. Bradford/Lopez (FGCU), 8-6
Friday Schedule
Singles Main Draw
#123 Magnus Johnson (FGCU) vs. Togan Tokac (UF), 9 am
Marcelo Sepulveda (FGCU) vs. Raul Garcia (KSU), 11:30 pm
Randy Wilson (FGCU) vs. #38 Dan Martin (Miami), 1 pm
Secondary Singles Round Robin
Max Damm (FGCU) vs. Harrison Kim (Georgia St.), 1:30 pm
Carter Bradford (FGCU) vs. Sami Ozzor (Stetson), 2 pm
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.
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 12th year, Weber has compiled a 123-95 (.564) overall record and a 51-19 (.729) 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. In 2022, Weber led the Eagles to another ASUN regular-season title while reaching #65 in the ITA rankings, the highest in program history and was also named the USPTA Steve Wilkinson National Coach of the Year.
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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 - Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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. |
