FORT MYERS, Fla. - No. 1 seed FGCU women's tennis will face the fourth-seeded Liberty Flames in the ASUN Semifinals on Saturday. First serve is set for 9 a.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Liberty defeated No. 5 Central Arkansas 4-2 in the first round on Friday to advance to Saturday's semifinal match against the Eagles. The Flames improved to 18-7 on the season.
Four Flames earned ASUN All-Conference honors on Thursday. Esther Lovato and Maria Juliana Parra Romero were both named to the ASUN First Team. Romero was also named to the ASUN Freshman Team, while Tiffany Nguyen earned second team honors.
The 14-6 Eagles posted a 4-3 victory over Liberty back on March 20.
No. 3 North Florida also advanced to the semifinal round on Saturday with its 4-0 victory over No. 6 Kennesaw State. North Florida will face No. 2 Stetson on Saturday, also starting at 9 a.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex. The full six-team, single-elimination bracket can be viewed here.
FGCU has advanced to the ASUN championship match five times, all against North Florida in 2015-17, 2019 and 2021. However, the Green and Blue are still seeking their first-ever ASUN Tournament title in school history.
Three Eagles were named to the ASUN Postseason and Award Lists as well. Emma Bardet was named to the All-Academic Team, Fanny Norin was named All-Conference Second Team and Isabella Colmenares was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Five Eagles have tallied double-digit wins in singles action this season. Jordana Ossa leads the singles charge with 18 victories. Teammate Norin trails Ossa in singles victories by just one, posting an 8-1 mark in the ASUN.
In doubles, FGCU holds an overall record of 38-33 as two Eagle doubles teams have hit the double-digit win column. Together, Ossa and Norin have recorded 12 doubles victories.
The Bardet and
Ida Ferding duo pace the Green and Blue with 13 doubles wins on court No. 1, accompanied by an 8-1 mark in the ASUN and were previously ranked as the No. 85 doubles team by ITA.
Colmenares has posted double-digit wins in singles action with 12, seven of those wins coming on court No. 2. She also holds a 5-3 mark in ASUN singles. In doubles, Colmenares finished the regular season with a combined 9-9 record on both courts No. 2 and No. 3.
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 97-66 overall record (.595) and 44-10 conference record (.815).
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 92 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 44 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.
