FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU women's tennis team cruised to a 6-1 victory over ASUN opponent Lipscomb despite windy conditions on Friday. The Eagles improved to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in the ASUN with the win while the Bison fall to 6-12 and 2-5 in league play.

At 5-1 in the ASUN, the second-place Eagles have clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship on April 22-24 from Fort Myers, Florida, as FGCU is set to host the conference championship at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"The ladies fought hard tonight," head coach Courtney Vernon said. "Lipscomb is a solid team, and they had to take the match. We are looking forward to hosting Jacksonville State on Sunday."

The Green and Blue secured the doubles point courtesy of an Emma Bardet and Ida Ferding victory. The No. 85 ranked doubles duo squad took care of business in a 6-2 win.

In singles action, FGCU rolled to clinch the match by winning the first five singles matches. Bardet would effectively clinch the match for the Eagles with her 6-1, 6-4 victory as the No. 1 overall seed.

Jordana Ossa, Isabella Colmenares and Bardet each won in straight sets for the Eagles. Ossa won 6-4, 6-1 on court four and Colmenares won on court two 6-1, 6-4.

Gabriela Macias captured another singles point, the fifth team point of the night, with a third-set tiebreaker, 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (10-4). Fanny Norin was also victorious in a third-set tiebreaker, winning 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Norin's win marked her eighth-straight singles win and remained undefeated in ASUN play at 6-0.

FGCU will be back in action on Sunday for its final home match of the regular season, hosting Jacksonville State at 1 p.m.

The Green and Blue have also clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship on April 22-24 from Fort Myers, Florida, as FGCU is set to host the conference championship at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

FGCU 6, Lipscomb 1
Singles Action
1. BARDET, Emma (FGCUW) def. POPOVA, Kate (LIP-W) 6-1, 6-4
2. COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCUW) def. DOBRANOS, Sasha (LIP-W) 6-1, 6-4
3. NORIN, Fanny (FGCUW) def. ZAKORDONIEC, Emma (LIP-W) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
4. OSSA, Jordana (FGCUW) def. DIACHENKO, Liza (LIP-W) 6-4, 6-1
5. MACIAS, Gabriela (FGCUW) def. BANDY, Maddox (LIP-W) 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (10-4) 6. CHAPMAN, Eleanor (LIP-W) def. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCUW) 6-4, 0-6, 6-4

Doubles Action
1. #85 BARDET, Emma/FERDING, Ida (FGCUW) def. DOBRANOS, Sasha/POPOVA, Kate (LIP-W) 6-2
2. RETORTILLO, Alba/MACIAS, Gabriela (FGCUW) vs. BANDY, Maddox/TRBEZNIK, Anja (LIP-W) 4-4, unfinished
3. OSSA, Jordana/NORIN, Fanny (FGCUW) def. DIACHENKO, Liza/HOWARD, Perri (LIP-W) 6-1

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

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 94-66 overall record (.587) and 41-10 conference record (.803).

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.