FORT MYERS, Fla. -- One day after a grueling, nearly four-hour win over Cincinnati, the FGCU women's tennis team (10-4, 1-0) cruised past Central Arkansas (7-7, 1-2) 7-0 in the ASUN opener on Friday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.

"The team did very well today," said FGCU head coach Courtney Vernon. "They came out in doubles with a lot of energy, and that was the goal coming off yesterday. It wasn't where they wanted it to be, so they made a switch, and it made a huge impact having the momentum going into singles today. They came out and battled really hard in singles, so it was a good day for them."
 
Sophomore Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) earned the clinching victory on court three, 6-4, 6-2. Earlier, the Eagles won the doubles point with victories on the top two courts.
 
In singles, Central Arkansas was unable to compete at the No. 6 pair, which gave FGCU a 2-0 lead. Junior Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) then produced the third point on the second court with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Nanoka Kazama before the clincher from Colmenares.
 
Following that, Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High/Wisconsin) finished off Nicole Ross 6-2, 6-1 on the fifth court.
 
The duo of senior Emma Bardet (Vichy, France/Long Beach State) and senior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) then nearly simultaneously won on the first and fourth courts to finish off the Bears.
 
Senior Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/La Anunciata) was supposed to compete at the No. 6 singles where Central Arkansas was unable to field an opponent, but she was part of the No. 2 doubles team with Ossa that produced a win.
 
The duo of Bardet and Ferding improved to 10-10 overall in doubles this year, which leads the team in wins. In singles, Ossa (13), Bardet (12) and Norin (11) improved their team-best win totals while Ferding is now one win shy of reaching double-digits on the season.

The Eagles will be back in action on Thursday against Stetson at the FGCU Tennis Complex at 5 p.m. before beginning a four-match road trip.
 
FGCU 7, Central Arkansas 0
 
Singles
1. Emma Bardet d. Vichitaporn Vimuktanada 6-4, 6-1
2. Fanny Norin d. Nanoka Kazama 6-4, 6-0
3. Isabella Colmenares d. Konomi Miyakawa 6-4, 6-2
4. Ida Ferding d. Ting-An Chen 6-1, 6-4
5. Jordanna Ossa d. Nicole Ross 6-2, 6-1
6. FGCU wins by walkover.
 
Doubles
1. Emma Bardet/Ida Ferding d. Nanoka Kazama/Vichitaporn Vimuktanada 6-2
2. Alba Retortillo/Jordana Ossa d. Sumomo Hamanaga/Konomi Miyakawa 6-1
3. Fanny Norin/Isabella Colmenares vs Nicole Ross/Jaeun Lee (5-2, unfinished)
 
Order of Finish: Doubles: 2, 1; Singles: 6, 2, 3, 5, 4, 1
 
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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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 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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