FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team rolled to a 7-0 win over Bellarmine, Friday evening, in the ASUN opener. The Eagles are now 8-5 while the Knights fall to 4-8.

"I'm really proud of the guys in this first conference win," said head coach CJ Weber. "This is the first time we've played Bellarmine, and the guys competed with discipline and class. I'm especially proud of Montes in this match, needing to step up at #1 with Magnus [Johnson] out of the lineup. He played with good positive energy and pulled out a good win for himself and the team. Overall, this was a good match for everybody; and now we shift focus to Liberty on Sunday. If you are a fan of tennis at all, you need to be at the FGCU Tennis Complex this Sunday at 1 pm to watch that battle!"

The Eagles swept all three doubles matches handily to jump out to an early lead.

In singles, junior Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) dominated on court six, winning 6-0, 6-0 before redshirt-sophomore Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win on court three.

Redshirt-sophomore Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) clinched the match for the Eagles with a 6-1, 6-1 win on court four.

Redshirt-sophomore Juan Lopez (Gachancipa, Colombia/Colegio Virtual Siglio XXI), redshirt-sophomore Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama), graduate student Juan Montes (Pereira, Colombia/Colegio Lujan) all won in straight sets as well to secure the sweep.

FGCU 7, Bellarmine 0
Singles Action
1.    MONTES, Juan (FGCUM) def. Cole Groetsch (BELL) 6-4, 6-4
2.    SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCUM) def. Jack Batchelor (BELL) 6-1, 6-4
3.    WILSON, Randy (FGCUM) def. Paul Reynolds (BELL) 6-1, 6-1
4.    STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCUM) def. Emil B. Berglund (BELL) 6-1, 6-1
5.    LOPEZ, Juan (FGCUM) def. Xavier Ecarma (BELL) 6-1, 6-2
6.    DAMM, Max (FGCUM) def. Matthew Rice (BELL) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles Action
1.    JOHNSON, Magnus/DAMM, Max (FGCUM) def. Jack Batchelor/Cole Groetsch (BELL) 6-1
2.    WILSON, Randy/ONCINS, Eric (FGCUM) def. Paul Reynolds/Xavier Ecarma (BELL) 6-3
3.    MONTES, Juan/SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCUM) def. Emil B. Berglund/Matthew Rice (BELL) 6-1

The Eagles will return to the courts on Sunday against Liberty, the defending ASUN champs. First serve from the FGCU Tennis Complex is set for 1 p.m.
 
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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 111-83 (.572) overall record and a 44-19 (.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 89 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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.