FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team collected 121 points and are picked to finish third in the 2023 ASUN Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Thursday by the conference.
 
"We're looking forward to another exciting season!" said FGCU head men's tennis coach CJ Weber. "Conference is going to be really tight again, and it should be fun playing a lot of new teams. We'll be putting in a lot of work between now and March when conference starts, but these guys will be ready.
 
Liberty was picked to repeat as champions, receiving nine first-place votes and 139 overall points. North Florida was second with two first-place votes and 129 points. Kennesaw State (98), Jacksonville State (97), Stetson (94), Queens (N.C.) (52), Lipscomb (51), Bellarmine (51), North Alabama (45), Eastern Kentucky (42) and Austin Peay (13) round out the poll.
 
The Green & Blue begins the 2023 season with six straight home matches and will take on competitive teams from seven different conferences this season. The Eagles will host C-USA member Southern Miss on Jan. 13, before taking on 2022 Patriot League semifinalist Bucknell on Jan. 14. 
 
FGCU will welcome 2022 NCAA Tournament participant South Florida on Jan. 20, and then do battle against in-state rival Florida Atlantic on Jan. 25. The Eagles kick off February's action hosting SBC member and NCAA Tournament team Georgia State on Feb. 10 before battling Mercer on Feb. 17 to end its six-game homestand.
 
"We have a great, challenging schedule this year – with top 50-75 teams to see where we stand," Weber said. "We have a lot of home matches to put on some shows for our fans. It should be a fun season, and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone out for the Southern Miss/Bucknell weekend."
 
The Green & Blue will then make the trip across Alligator Alley to face off against ACC member and NCAA Tournament second-round qualifier Miami on Feb. 25. 

FGCU enters conference action with a battle against perennial ASUN contender Stetson on March 3 at the FGCU Tennis Complex before heading to face Sun Belt Conference finalist South Alabama on March 5.
 
The Eagles remain on the road, commuting to Lafayette, La., to take on the Louisiana Rajin' Cajuns on March 7 before heading New Orleans to face Tulane on March 9.

FGCU returns home to face Big Ten stalwart Penn State on March 11 for its final non-conference match. The Eagles will then head to Louisville, Ky., to battle Bellarmine on March 19 before returning to the Sunshine State to take on Stetson in DeLand on March 23.
 
Staying in Florida, North Florida welcomes FGCU on March 26. The Eagles have another road test March 31 vs. Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. The Green & Blue host three teams in April, beginning with Lipscomb on April 2 followed by Queens (N.C.) on April 6 and ending the regular season on April 8 against defending ASUN champion Liberty.
 
The Eagles finished last year's campaign 15-7 and posted a 7-1 mark in the ASUN to win a share of the conference regular season title for the fourth time in program history. The Green & Blue also earned the No. 1 overall seed and advanced to the ASUN Tournament finals. 

The squad closed the season ranked No. 73 in the nation, after climbing as high as No. 69 earlier in the year. 
 
Three Eagles earned postseason honors, redshirt-junior Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) repeated as ASUN Player of the Year, and also was chosen to the ASUN All-Academic Team. While redshirt-junior Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) and redshirt-junior Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) were named All-Conference Second Team.
 
Four Eagles tallied double-digit wins in singles action, with Johnson leading the way with 21 victories.  Doubles teammates Sepulveda and Wilson each won 15 matches 

FGCU defeated #68 Liberty and #70 Kennesaw State while also picking up two points against No. 26 Memphis.

In the classroom, the Eagles posted a team GPA of 3.45 and earned ITA All-Academic Team honors as five team members were named scholar-athletes.

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 12th year, Weber has compiled a 123-95 (.564) overall record and a 51-19 (.729) 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.  In 2022, Weber led the Eagles to another ASUN regular-season title while reaching #65 in the ITA rankings, the highest in program history.

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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.    


ABOUT FGCU 
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an 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 and No. 25 in 2022-23) 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 & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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. 
 
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