FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team returns to action this weekend as they will travel to Stetson and North Florida. The Eagles will battle the Hatters on Friday at 11 a.m. before taking on the Ospreys, Sunday at noon.
The Green and Blue are currently 9-5 on the season and 2-0 in the ASUN after pulling off a thrilling comeback against Liberty on Sunday. Down 3-1 in the match, the Eagles rallied back to win 4-3 for their third-straight victory.
Against the Flames, sophomore
Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School), freshman
Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII), and junior
Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/La Anunciata) all won their singles matches.
With doubles taking place after singles, junior
Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State) and junior
Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) won their match on court one before Norin and sophomore
Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) clinched the victory with a 6-3 win on court three.
Overall, this season, Ossa leads the Eagles with 10 singles wins while Retortillo and Bardet each have seven. In doubles, Ossa has paired with Norin for a team-high seven victories.
Stetson enters the weekend with a 13-1 record after defeating St. Thomas on Tuesday. The Hatters opened ASUN play this past Sunday with a 5-2 win over UNF, their first win over the Ospreys since 2014. Stetson currently has two players who are still undefeated on the season as Noa Cohen is 12-0 while Alanna DiFrancesco is 13-0.
Against UNF, the Eagles will look for some revenge as the Ospreys have won six-straight ASUN Championships, five of which they have defeated FGCU in the championship match. UNF is currently 6-8 on the season and 0-1 in conference play after its loss to Stetson, its first ASUN loss since 2019. Kit Gulihur leads the team with eight singles wins while also pairing with Ana Paula Melilo for a team-high five doubles wins.
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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).
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 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.
