TAMPA, Fla. - The #74 FGCU women's tennis team hit the courts for a match on Sunday for the first time in over two weeks, falling to South Florida, 4-1.

"USF played a good match today," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We always have a battle when we play them. We will take a lot of learning opportunities out of today and we look forward to playing again at home on Tuesday."

Sophomore Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) picked up the lone victory for the Eagles on the day, a 6-4, 6-0 win on court six. The victory pushes her record to 7-1 in singles matches, the best on the team.

Sophomore Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) won her first set on court three, but ended up dropping the match in three sets. Junior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) and freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) also won a set, but both their matches went unfinished.

In addition to court three, the Bulls also won on courts one and five to clinch the match after taking the doubles point to begin the day.

USF 4, FGCU 1
Singles Action
1. Sierra Berry (USF) def. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Grace Schumacher (USF) vs. COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
3. Laura Pellicer (USF) def. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Margriet Timmermans (USF) vs. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 4-6, 6-3 (5-7), unfinished
5. Amelie Boy (USF) def. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) 6-2, 6-0
6. OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) def. Selin Yaylali (USF) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles Action
1. Amelie Boy/Sierra Berry (USF) vs. BARDET, Emma/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 5-4, unfinished
2. Grace Schumacher/Margriet Timmermans (USF) def. RETORTILLO, Alba/COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) 6-2
3. Laura Pellicer/Selin Yaylali (USF) def. NORIN, Fanny/GLANTZ, Lola (FGCU) 6-4

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

The Eagles will return to action this Tuesday when they host St. John's at 10 a.m.

For complete coverage of FGCU women's tennis, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WTEN and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's tennis or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU's women's tennis team is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon (9th 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 63 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 87-65 overall record (.576) and 36-10 conference record (.782).

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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 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. 25, 2021-22), 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.