DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team earned another thrilling win on Friday as they took down Stetson, 4-3 to improve to 10-5 and 3-0 in the ASUN. The loss is just Stetson's second of the season and the first time they have been defeated at home this season as they fall to 13-2 and 1-1 in conference play.

"Today was a huge battle against Stetson," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "They have a very good team and they fought very hard. The ladies showed a lot of heart and determination and a special congratulations to Fanny [Norin] for clinching the match. We are looking forward to competing again on Sunday."

Sophomore Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) clinched the victory for the Green and Blue as she came back to win 6-7 (9), 6-4, 7-5 and hand Alanna DiFrancesco her first loss of the season after starting the year 13-0.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as they claimed the doubles point. Juniors Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) and Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State) picked up their fourth-straight win with a 6-3 victory on court one before junior Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/La Anunciata) and freshman Gabriela Macias (Barranquilla, Colombia/Colegio Fontan) won by the same score on court two.

Stetson responded by taking the first two singles points, but Retortillo answered with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court six.

Freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) then gave the Eagles the lead with her fourth-straight singles victory, a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win on court two.

After the Hatters won on court five to tie up the match at three apiece, Norin delivered with her clutch performance on court four to give the Eagles their fourth consecutive win and become the first team in the ASUN with three conference victories.

#74 FGCU 4, Stetson 3
Singles Action
1.    Nadejda Maslova (STET) def. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
2.    COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) def. Anais Gabriel (STET) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
3.    Cheri Darley (STET) def. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 6-2, 6-4
4.    NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Alanna DiFrancesco (STET) 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 7-5
5.    Noa Cohen (STET) def. OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6.    RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Tess Menten (STET) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles Action
1.    BARDET, Emma/FERDING, Ida (FGCUW) def. Alanna DiFrancesco/Elodie Foster (STETW) 6-3
2.    MACIAS, Gabriela/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCUW) def. Cheri Darley/Nadejda Maslova (STETW) 6-3
3.    Noa Cohen/Anais Gabriel (STETW) vs. NORIN, Fanny/OSSA, Jordana (FGCUW) 5-3, unfinished

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

The Eagles will look to make it five straight and stay undefeated in ASUN play on Sunday when they travel to Jacksonville to take on North Florida. First serve against the Ospreys is set for 11 a.m.

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 92-66 overall record (.582) and 39-10 conference record (.796).

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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.