FORT MYERS, Fla. – The top-seeded FGCU men's tennis team (13-8, 7-1 ASUN Conference) delivered a 4-3 victory over No. 8 seed Stetson (14-10, 3-5 ASUN) on Friday at the FGCU Tennis Complex to advance to the ASUN Tournament semifinals. 
 
The Green & Blue will now take on No. 5 seed Kennesaw State at 9 a.m. Friday in Jacksonville. The Owls downed No. 4 seed Bellarmine with a 4-0 showing earlier on Friday to secure their spot in the semifinals.
  
 "These guys never cease to amaze me! I'm having so much fun coaching this group," said FGCU head men's tennis coach CJ Weber. "I felt like Stetson was really ready to come and win this match today; but we responded very well. This was the third time we played them this year, and it was by far the best match! We competed extremely well, and held on with a lot of grit." 

"I'm very thankful for this gift that Randy gave the program! It is not easy to come up with the goods like that with the match knotted up 3-3. Especially finishing with two aces. I'm super proud of him, and happy for all the guys. For many of the guys, this was their last match that they will play here at the Nest! We live to fight another weekend."
 
Redshirt juniors Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) and Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) won the No. 1 doubles match 6-1 to get the Eagles started. Junior Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) and senior Carter Bradford (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Prep/George Mason) then the clinched doubles point at No. 3 with a tight 7-6 (5) decision.
 
Johnson wasted no time adding a second point in singles, cruising to an easy 6-0, 6-1 showing at No. 1. The Hatters responded, as Oncins dropped his match 7-6 (3), 6-1 at No. 6. 
 
Stetson tied the match when FGCU redshirt junior Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) fell 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2.  The Eagles answered, as redshirt junior Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) rallied to win 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 at No. 4.
 
The Hatters evened the match again, as Eagles redshirt junior Juan Lopez (Gachancipa, Colombia/ Colegio Virtual Siglo XXI) dropped a 6-1, 6-1 decision at No. 5. But with the intense pressure of making it to the semifinals, Wilson rallied for a 1-6. 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 3 to clinch the match and send FGCU to the next round.
 
Doubles Competition
1. JOHNSON, Magnus/WILSON, Randy (FGCU) def. Lucas Olivier/Marc Saura (STETSON) 6-1
2. Juan Garceran/Ervin Haris Eminefen (STETSON) def. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo/STEFANACCI,Guglielmo (FGCU) 6-1
3. ONCINS, Eric/BRADFORD, Carter (FGCU) def. Sven Thiergard/Alexandre Hillhouse (STETSON) 7-6 (7-5)  
 
Singles Competition   
1. JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) def. Marc Saura (STETSON) 6-0, 6-1
2. Lucas Olivier (STETSON) def. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
3. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) def. Ervin Haris Eminefen (STETSON) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. STEFANACCI, Guglielmo (FGCU) def. Juan Garceran (STETSON) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
5. Sami Ozzor (STETSON) def. LOPEZ, Juan (FGCU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Alexandre Hillhouse (STETSON) def. ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 
 
Order of finish:  Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,2,4,5,3) 
  
CJ WEBER 
FGCU is led by four-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 136-103 (.569) overall record and a 59-20 (.746) 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. And in 2023, Weber's Eagles claimed a share of the ASUN regular-season crown.
 
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ABOUT FGCU  
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 97 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 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 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 3.67 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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