FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's tennis team (15-6, 6-2 ASUN Conference) earned a 4-3 victory against Liberty (15-8, 6-2 ASUN) on Saturday evening at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
"The ladies battled so hard against a tough Liberty team," said FGCU head women's tennis coach Courtney Vernon. "And it was a team effort. Jordi was very brave to clinch the match for the team under so much pressure. A special thank you to all of our fans who stayed to support."
 
Liberty earned the doubles point to get the evening started.
 
The Eagles responded, with senior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Sweden/Akademi Basted Gymnasium) delivering a 6-2, 6-1 victory to put the Eagles on the board. The Flames responded, as senior Emma Bardet (Vichy, France/Long Beach State) fell 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1.
 
Senior Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain/La Anuciata) kept the Green & Blue alive, winning 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6. 
 
Sophomore Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela/Colegio Juan XXIII) dropped her No. 3 match 6-1, 6-0, but Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden/Thoren Business School) prevailed 6-3, 7-6 at No. 2 to tie the match.
 
With her teammates cheering her on, junior Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior HS/Wisconsin) rallied through three sets to win 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4 and seize the victory.
 
FGCU is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament, and will play Sunday in the quarterfinal round against the winner of Saturday's No. 6 Kennesaw State vs. No. 11 Eastern Kentucky match. Both matches will be at the FGCU Tennis Complex.  
 
Doubles 
1. #90 M. Juliana P. Romero/Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTY) def. BARDET, Emma/FERDING, Ida (FGCU) 6-3
2. OSSA, Jordana/RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Maretha Burger/Bruna Sampaio (LIBERTY) 6-1
3. Marina Davtyan/Esther Lovato (LIBERTY) def. COLMENARES, Isabella/NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) 6-4
    
Singles 
1. M. Juliana P. Romero (LIBERTY) def. BARDET, Emma (FGCU) 6-2, 6-1
2. NORIN, Fanny (FGCU) def. Marina Davtyan (LIBERTY) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Esther Lovato (LIBERTY) def. COLMENARES, Isabella (FGCU) 6-1, 6-0
4. OSSA, Jordana (FGCU) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTY) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3
5. FERDING, Ida (FGCU) def. Elsa Kirch (LIBERTY) 6-2, 6-1
6. RETORTILLO, Alba (FGCU) def. Maretha Burger (LIBERTY) 6-4, 6-3 
 
Order of finish:  Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,5,4,6,3) 
 
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 114-79 overall record (.590) and 50-11 conference record (.819).
 
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 (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 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 in 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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