FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Junior
Fanny Norin (
Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) smashed a forehand winner on the second court for a three-set victory over Cincinnati's Cassie McLay to help the FGCU women's tennis team (9-4) produce a 4-3 victory over the Bearcats at the FGCU Tennis Complex on Thursday afternoon.
Norin won the opening set, 6-4, and then overcame a tough 9-7 loss in a second-set tiebreaker, but she regrouped before jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the deciding set, eventually leading to a 6-2 victory. The Bearcats had just tied the match at three apiece with a three-set victory of their own on the fourth court.
"The team fought really hard," said FGCU head women's tennis coach
Courtney Vernon. "The doubles point was very close. We were down on two of the three courts, but they came back and won. That really set the tone. Going into singles, Fanny had her opportunities in the second to clinch. She wasn't able to do it, but she came back and clinched it for the team. I think it's a great way to go into conference play tomorrow against Central Arkansas."
The Green & Blue led early after claiming the doubles point behind wins on the second and third courts as the No. 2 duo of junior
Jordana Ossa (
Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) and senior
Alba Retortillo (
Leon, Spain/La Anunciata), as well as the No. 3 pair of Norin and sophomore
Isabella Colmenares (
San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII), each claimed 6-4 victories.
Cincinnati's Elizabeth Pendergast then swept on court No. 1 to claim the first singles point to set up a back-and-forth match. Ossa responded with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Callie Flanagan at No. 5. After the Bearcats evened up the match once again with a win at No. 6, Colmenares notched a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 3 to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
Norin improved to 5-4 this year on court two, which helped her become the third Eagle this year with double-digit wins overall in singles, joining Ossa and senior
Emma Bardet (
Vichy, France/Long Beach State). In fact, Ossa is now 5-1 on the fifth court with a team-best 12 wins overall. Colmenares has five of her seven wins overall from the third court.
FGCU begins conference play at 5 p.m. on Friday against Central Arkansas at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Gallery: (3-16-2023) Women's Tennis vs Cincinnati
FGCU 4, Cincinnati 3
Singles
1. Elizabeth Pendergast (Cincinnati) d.
Emma Bardet (FGCU) 6-1, 6-2
2.
Fanny Norin (FGCU) vs Cassie McLay (Cincinnati) 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2
3.
Isabella Colmenares (FGCU) d. Maria Santilli (Cincinnati) 6-4, 6-2
4. Kelli Niehaus (Cincinnati) d.
Ida Ferding (FGCU) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-2
5.
Jordana Ossa (FGCU) d. Callie Flanagan (Cincinnati) 6-4, 6-2
6. Katie Ferguson (Cincinnati) d.
Gabriela Macias (FGCU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Callie Flanagan/Casie McLay (Cincinnati) d.
Emma Bardet/
Ida Ferding (FGCU) 6-4
2.
Alba Retortillo/
Jordana Ossa (FGCU) d. Katie Ferguson/Kelli Niehaus (Cincinnati) 6-4
3.
Isabella Colmenares/
Fanny Norin (FGCU) d. Sofia Bruno/Elizabeth Pendergast (Cincinnati) 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 1, 2; Singles: 1, 5, 6, 3, 4, 2.
HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU's women's tennis team is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year
Courtney Vernon (10th season) who led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN regular-season crowns in her fifth season during 2018, adding a third regular-season title in 2022. She has mentored her student-athletes into earning 66 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 107-77 overall record (.583) and 44-11 conference record (.800).
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 20 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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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