FORT MYERS, Fla. – Down 3-1 in the match, the #74 FGCU women's tennis team won the final three points of the day to pull off a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Liberty, Sunday morning. The Eagles improve to 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the ASUN while the Flames fall to 12-5 and 1-1 in conference play.
"The ladies showed a lot of heart and fight today," said head coach
Courtney Vernon. "They were very brave and aggressive in the doubles and it showed. We are looking forward to getting back to work so we can prepare for two big matches this week."
The match was played a little different today as it started with singles with doubles only being played if necessary. Spoiler alert, it was necessary.
Liberty took the early lead with a win on court five, but sophomore
Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) quickly tied it up with a 6-1, 6-3 win on court four.
The Flames then retook the lead with wins on courts three and one to push ahead 3-1.
Needing to win the final two singles matches on courts two and six to force doubles, the Eagles did just that. Freshman
Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) won her first set at No. 2, 6-2, but dropped the second set 6-7 (5). However, her opponent was battling injury and could not finish the match, giving the point to FGCU.
On court six, after dropping the first set 3-6, junior
Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/La Anunciata) responded in by winning the second set, 6-3. In the final set with it tied at four, Retortillo won the final two games to take the match and tie the contest at three.
In doubles, juniors
Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State) and
Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) won their match on court one, 6-2 at about the same time Liberty won on court two. All coming down to court three, Norin and sophomore
Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) answered the bell with a 6-3 win to clinch the match for the Eagles.
The Green and Blue will look to remain perfect in the ASUN as they have two road matches this week. The Eagles will take on Stetson on Friday at 11 a.m. before battling six-time defending ASUN champion North Florida on Sunday at noon.
#74 FGCU 4, Liberty 3
Singles Action
1. M. Juliana P. Romero (LIBERTY) def. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 6-2, 6-3
2. COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) def. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTY) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), retired
3. Kalani Soli (LIBERTY) def. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
4. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Eloise Saraty (LIBERTY) 6-1, 6-3
5. Esther Lovato (LIBERTY) def. OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) 6-1, 6-1
6. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTY) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Action
1. FERDING, Ida/BARDET, Emma (FGCUW) def. M. Juliana P. Romero/Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 6-2
2. Willa Rogers/Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) def. COLMENARES, Isabella/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCUW) 6-2
3. OSSA, Jordana/NORIN, Fanny (FGCUW) def. Esther Lovato/Kalani Soli (LIBERTYW) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,3,1,2,6)
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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 91-66 overall record (.576) and 38-10 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.
