FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a match that lasted over four-and-a-half hours, the FGCU women's tennis team came out on top as sophomore Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) clinched the match with a thrilling 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (2) win on court three to defeat Kennesaw State, 4-3. The Eagles improve to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the ASUN while the Owls fall to 11-5 and 1-4 in league play.

"The team showed real heart today," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "They are playing for each other and it shows. Kennesaw fought very hard and it was a good match. Fanny was cramping the entire third set but found a way to clinch it for the team. It was a complete team effort today."

The Green and Blue had to battle uphill all match as they dropped the doubles point to fall behind 1-0 early.

In singles, junior Emma Bardet (Vichey, France/Long Beach State) cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win on court one to even up the match.

Sophomore Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) followed with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four to give the Eagles the brief lead before the Owls retook the lead with wins on court five and six.

On court two, freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) rallied after dropping the first set to take her match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, to tie the match at three to set the stage for Norin.

For Norin, it was her seventh win in a row after dropping six of her first seven matches this spring.

#74 FGCU 4, Kennesaw State 3
Singles Action
1.    BARDET, Emma (FGCU) def. Kat Muzik (KSU) 6-2, 6-1
2.    COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) def. Taylor Dean (KSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3.    NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Ji Youn Lee (KSU) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3)
4.    OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) def. Valentina Taddia (KSU) 6-3, 6-3
5.    Sophia Unger (KSU) def. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) 6-4, 6-3
6.    Sofia Pinedo (KSU) def. MACIAS, Gabriela (FGCU) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles Action
1.    Kat Muzik/Taylor Dean (KSU) def. FERDING, Ida/BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 6-3
2.    MACIAS, Gabriela/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) vs. Valentina Taddia/Ji Youn Lee (KSU) 6-6, unfinished
3.    Sophia Unger/Sofia Pinedo (KSU) def. OSSA, Jordana/NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) 7-5

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

The Eagles will be back in action on Friday when they host Lipscomb at 5 p.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 93-66 overall record (.582) and 40-10 conference record (.800).

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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.