NCAA Tournament Bracket

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's tennis team (15-8) will begin its 2023 NCAA Tournament run with a first-round matchup against sixth-seeded Georgia (20-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, in Athens, Ga.
 
The Eagles clinched an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the 2023 ASUN Tournament in April. The Green & Blue entered ASUN Tournament as the top seed after claiming a share of the ASUN regular-season title. 
 
Redshirt junior Marcelo Sepulveda  (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) rallied to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 2 to hand the team its 4-0 victory over No. 3 seed UNF in the final back on April 22.  Sepulveda was named ASUN Tournament MVP, and was joined on the ASUN All-Tournament team by senior Carter Bradford (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Prep/George Mason).
 
FGCU will be making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility. The Eagles are 0-3 all-time, with appearances in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
 
With a victory, the Eagles would advance to face the winner between NC State and Oklahoma on Sunday.
 
FGCU redshirt junior Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF), the ASUN Player of the Year, leads the Eagles with a 18-3 singles record from the No. 1 position. Johnson also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Academic team after posting a 3.95 GPA while studying management.
 
Johnson is also part of the No. 1 doubles pair, holding a 15-4 record – going 7-1 with senior Max Damm  (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal School), and 8-3 with redshirt junior Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville).
 
This will be first time the Eagles and Bulldogs have faced each other on the court.
 
Georgia finished the SEC regular season undefeated, and is making its 39^th straight and 44th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs have won six NCAA National Championships (1985, 1987, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008), and a Georgia player has won the NCAA Singles Championship four times (Mikael Pernfors in 1984 and 1985, Matias Boeker in 2001 and 2002). Georgia has also claimed the NCAA doubles title on three occasions – Ola Malmqvist and Allen Miller in 1983, Boeker and Travis Parrott in 2001, and John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in 2005.
 
FGCU NCAA Tournament History
2015 – L 4-0 at No. 16 UCLA
2017 – L 4-0 at No. 15 Florida
2019 – L 4-0 at No. 3 Florida
 
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 138-103 (.572) 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 and won the ASUN Tournament
 
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 98 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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