FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #74 FGCU women's tennis team cruised to a 7-0 win over Bellarmine, Friday morning, to open up the ASUN conference season.The Eagles are now 8-5 on the season while the Knights fall to 1-14.

"The ladies are competing hard and today was another opportunity to get better," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "We are looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow to prepare for Sunday against Liberty!"

Sophomores Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) and Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) did not lose a game all day as they paired for a 6-0 win on court three in doubles before each winning their singles matches, 6-0, 6-0.

Freshman Gabriela Macias (Barranquilla, Colombia/Colegio Fontan) also picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win, her first victory for the Green and Blue.

Junior Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State), freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII), and junior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) also all won in straight sets.

#74 FGCU 7, Bellarmine 0
Singles Action
1.    BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Ekaterina Tikhonko (BELL) 6-1, 6-1
2.    COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) def. Rose Pastoret (BELL) 6-1, 6-2
3.    FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Madison Devillez (BELL) 7-5, 6-2
4.    NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Maja Kozerski (BELL) 6-0, 6-0
5.    OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) def. Channing Varnum (BELL) 6-0, 6-0
6.    MACIAS, Gabriela (FGCU) def. Laurie Hargis (BELL) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles Action
1.    FERDING, Ida/BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Madison Devillez/Ekaterina Tikhonko (BELL) 6-3
2.    COLMENARES, Isabella/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCUW) def. Channing Varnum/Rose Pastoret (BELL) 6-1
3.    OSSA, Jordana/NORIN, Fanny (FGCUW) def. Laurie Hargis/Maja Kozerski (BELL) 6-0

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

The Eagles will return to action on Sunday when they host Liberty at 10 a.m. Singles play will begin the day with doubles only occurring if necessary in the match.

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 90-66 overall record (.576) and 37-10 conference record (.782).

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#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 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.