FORT MYERS, Fla. – The #62 FGCU women's tennis team picked up a decisive 6-1 victory over Cleveland State, Tuesday morning. The Eagles improve to 7-5 while the Vikings fall to 6-9.

"The ladies are making good steps each time we compete and today was another example of that," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We are looking forward to hosting our first conference match on Friday."

The Green and Blue jumped out to an early lead as they clinched the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Junior Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State) and junior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) took down Cleveland State's top pair in dominating fashion, 6-1, before sophomores Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) and Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) won 6-4 to clinch the point.

Ossa doubled the Eagle lead with a commanding singles win on court five. After dropping the first two games of the match, she won 12 straight games to win 6-2, 6-0, and now has a team-high nine singles wins this year.

Bardet made it 3-0 as she won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 on court one. After cruising in the first set, she won the final four games of set two to take the match.

Ferding clinched the match for the Eagles as she won 6-3, 6-2 on court three for here third win of the spring.

Freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) and Norin added to the final score as they each picked up straight-set wins. Colmenares won 6-1, 7-5 on court two while Norin triumphed 6-4, 6-4.

#62 FGCU 6, Cleveland State 1
Singles Action
1.    BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Oihane Vicario (CSU) 6-2, 6-3
2.    COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) def. Klara Mrcela (CSU) 6-1, 7-5
3.    FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Sima Heren (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
4.    NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Tereze Vevere (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
5.    OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) def. Selma Tounsi (CSU) 6-2, 6-0
6.    Bethany Yauch (CSU) def. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7)

Doubles Action
1.    BARDET, Emma/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Klara Mrcela/Sima Heren (CSU) 6-1
2.    RETORTILLO, Alba/COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) vs. Selma Tounsi/Bethany Yauch (CSU) 6-5, unfinished
3.    OSSA, Jordana/NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Tereze Vevere/Oihane Vicario (CSU) 6-4

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

The Eagles will return to action this weekend when they open ASUN play. They will host two matches beginning with Bellarmine at 10 a.m. on Friday before taking on Liberty, Sunday at 9 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 89-66 overall record (.576) and 36-10 conference record (.782).

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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 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.