FORT MYERS, Fla. – Looking to avenge a loss in the ASUN championship match last season, the FGCU men's tennis team took on #68 Liberty, Sunday afternoon. After falling behind 3-0 in the match, the Eagles won the final four matches of the day to pull off the ultimate comeback.

The Green and Blue improve to 9-5 overall this season and 2-0 in the ASUN while the Flames fall to 4-8 and 0-2 in conference play.

"This was one of the best college tennis matches I've ever been a part of," said head coach CJ Weber. "Both teams played with a lot of guts, and we were just very fortunate to come out with the win today! I am proud of the whole team for beating an extremely good team without winning the doubles point; but I'm particularly proud of Marche [Sepulveda] and Randy [Wilson]! Their matches were incredibly physical, and for them to deal with the heat in such a way is a testament to their toughness and their physical stamina. We had great support for both Marche and Randy at the end as well and that was not an easy match to stomach the heat, even for a fan! Today is certainly a great day to be an Eagle! I'm also very happy for our women's team that pulled off a really unconventional top-notch match win as well! I'm really happy for [head coach] Courtney [Vernon] and the girls!"

The Flames jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as they took two of three matches in doubles. Sophomore Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) and redshirt-sophomore Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) won their match on court two, 6-3.

Liberty extended their lead to 3-0 with straight-sets wins on courts two and six, but redshirt-sophomore Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) got the Eagles on the board with a 6-4, 7-5 win on court five.

Redshirt-sophomore Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) kept the momentum going with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court one, his 11th of the season to lead the team.

On court three, redshirt-sophomore Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) dropped the first set, but quickly came back to win the second, 6-2. Sepulveda jumped ahead 4-0 in the third, but Rafael Marques Da Silva came back to tie the set at four. The two players then traded games as it went to a tiebreak.

In the tiebreaker, it was all tied at three as the players switched sides, but Sepulveda followed by winning three of the next four points to take a 6-4 lead. Da Silva saved one match point but could not save a second as his return on a big serve from Sepulveda went wide.

The attention now turned to Wilson and Christiaan Worst on court four who were locked in a tight battle in the third set. Wilson gained separation as he broke Worst at 2-2 and then held serve to take a 4-2 lead. The two played then traded holds of serve before Wilson broke once again to claim the 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 come-from-behind victory not only for himself but for the team.
 

FGCU 4, #68 Liberty 3
Singles Action
1.    JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) def. Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTY) 6-3, 6-3
2.    Josh Wilson (LIBERTY) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
3.    SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTY) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4.    WILSON, Randy (FGCU) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTY) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
5.    STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) def. Goncalo Ferreira (LIBERTY) 6-4, 7-5
6.    Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTY) def. LOPEZ, Juan (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles Action
1.    Nicaise Muamba/R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTY) def. DAMM, Max/JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) 6-3
2.    WILSON, Randy/ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) def. Omar El Kadi/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTY) 6-4
3.    Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTY) def. MONTES, Juan/SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,6,5,1,3,4)
T-3:49  A-248

The Eagles will look to keep rolling as they hit the road this week for two matches. They will play Stetson on Friday before taking on North Florida on Sunday. Both matches will begin at 3 p.m.

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 seventh year, Weber has compiled a 112-83 (.572) overall record and a 45-19 (.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. 

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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.