ORLANDO, Fla. – On a long day at the UCF Fall Sizzler, featuring a few weather delays, the FGCU men's tennis team racked up a couple of wins, highlighted by senior Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) and redshirt-junior Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) advancing to the Ice doubles draw championship match.

"Today really fired me up," said head coach CJ Weber. "As a team, we played much more disciplined tennis today, learned a lot from yesterday and implemented it right away. Some of the guys played amazing because of it, which is a nice little reward. We still had a couple disappointing losses, but these guys should be feeling really good about themselves after today's effort. Tomorrow, we get an opportunity to play for some titles in the main draw and back draw."

In doubles, Johnson and Damm advanced to the championship match after defeating Raul Garcia and Harvey Conway of Kennesaw State.

In singles action, Johnson and redshirt-junior Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) each won their first match of the day Blue draw before falling in the semifinals. Johnson took down Thomas Kennedy of Furman 7-6 (4), 6-2 but dropped his next match to Jack McCarthy of Cornell while Sepulveda defeated Cooper White of UCF, 6-3, 6-1, before falling to Pol del Castillo of Georgia Southern.

In the backdraw of the Blue region, Damm defeated Connor Laymon of Furman, 6-2, 7-5, and senior Carter Bradford (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Preparatory School/George Mason) took down Anthony Weingarten of Kennesaw State, 6-3, 4-6, 10-3. The Eagles are guaranteed a back draw title as Damm and Bradford will play each other tomorrow.

Junior Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) also won his first match of the day in the red backdraw, defeating Jaap Aalderling of Georiga Southern, 6-2, 6-3, but then fell to Seru Tezuka of KSU, retiring in the second set.

In other singles matches, redshirt-junior Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) and redshirt-junior Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville), both dropped their only matches of the day.

Saturday Results
Singles
Bogdan Pavel (UCF) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci, 6-1, 6-3 (Red)
Eric Oncins (FGCU) def. Jaap Aalderling (GSU), 6-2, 6-3 (Red)
Seru Tezuka def. Eric Oncins (FGCU), 4-6, 3-2 (ret.) (Red)
Alex Han (Furman) def. Randy Wilson (FGCU), 6-1, 3-6, 10-6 (Green)
Magnus Johnson (FGCU) def. Thomas Kennedy (Furman), 7-6 (4), 6-2 (Blue)
Jack McCarthy (Cornerll) def. Magnus Johnson (FGCU), 4-6, 7-6 (2), 10-8 (Blue)
Marcelo Sepulveda (FGCU) def. Cooper White (UCF), 6-3, 6-1 (Blue)
Max Damm (FGCU) def. Connor Laymon (Furman), 6-2, 7-5 (Blue)
Carter Bradford (FGCU) def. Anthony Weingarten (KSU), 6-3, 4-6, 10-3

Doubles Action
Johnson/Damm (FGCU) def. Garcia/Conway (KSU), unknown score (Ice)

Sunday's Schedule is Not Finalized Yet

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CJ WEBER
FGCU is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year CJ Weber, who has coached 32 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his 11th year, Weber has compiled a 118-94 (.583) overall record and a 50-20 (.721) record in ASUN play. In 2014-15, Weber guided the Eagles to their first-ever ASUN Championship and first-ever ASUN Regular Season title after a program-best 17 wins. In his third season, Weber led Jordi Vives to a No. 35 national ranking, a nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streak and the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament - the program's first appearance. The Eagles completed a perfect ASUN regular season in both 2015 and 2016, finishing with conference titles as well as a Coach of the Year honor for Weber. FGCU again won the 2017 ASUN Championship and made its second NCAA appearance. The Eagles returned to the mountaintop by claiming the 2019 regular season and tournament championships. Weber earned his third ASUN Coach of the Year honor and led the Green and Blue to their third trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

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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 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. 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 four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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.