NCAA Tournament Bracket

ATHENS, Ga. – The FGCU men's tennis team put up a valiant effort Saturday against sixth-seeded Georgia (21-6) before falling 4-0 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

FGCU's season ends at 15-9. Georgia advances to play No. 32 Oklahoma on Sunday at the Magill Tennis Complex. The Green & Blue also saw its nine-match winning streak come to an end.
 
Saturday's loss closed the book on FGCU's fourth NCAA Tournament in 12 years of eligibility, joining squads from the 2018-19, 2016-17, and 2014-15 seasons.
 
"We were close to making this match close, as weird as that sounds, that's exactly how it was," said FGCU head men's tennis coach CJ Weber. "The guys fought hard and represented themselves well. Georgia did a great job of getting on top of us and not letting the match get too interesting. I'm really proud of this team."

"From November to now, I think we were one of the most improved teams in the country. Nothing to hang our heads over with this match. There are going to be moments that the guys wish they could have back, but that's sports, and ultimately we did a great job and had a fantastic season!"
 
Redshirt junior Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) won his first set 7-5 against No. 113 Trent Bryde at No. 3 – becoming only the second FGCU player in program history to win a NCAA Tournament set. Wilson joins Javier Fernandez, who took a set 6-4 off of Florida's Johannes Inglidsen in 2017.
   
The Bulldogs took the doubles point to start the day, as Wilson and redshirt junior Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) fell 6-2 at No. 1 against the sixth-ranked pair of Bryde and Ethan Quinn. 
 
Redshirt juniors Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy/International School of Florence) and Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) dropped their match 6-4 at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for Georgia.

Junior Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) and senior Carter Bradford (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Saddlebrook Prep/George Mason) were tied 5-5 before the Bulldogs clinched the match.
 
Georgia extended its lead in singles when Oncins was defeated 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5. Stefanacci dropped his match 6-3, 7-5 against No. 106 Blake Croyder at No. 4.
 
The Bulldogs clinched the overall match as Sepulveda fell 7-5, 6-1 to No. 19 Philip Henning at No. 2.
 
Johnson was trailing 6-4, 6-5 against No. 2 Quinn at No. 1 when the match finished.
 
The Eagles won a share of the 2023 ASUN regular-season title after defeating No. 63 Liberty, and were crowned ASUN Tournament champions with a 4-0 victory over North Florida.
  
Doubles Competition   
1. #6 Trent Bryde/Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. WILSON, Randy/JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) 6-2
2. Teodor Giusca/Philip Henning (UGA) def. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo/STEFANACCI, Guglielmo (FGCU) 6-4
3. Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) vs. BRADFORD, Carter/ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) 5-5, unfinished
  
Singles Competition   
1. #2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) vs. JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
2. #19 Philip Henning (UGA) def. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) 7-5, 6-1
3. #113 Trent Bryde (UGA) vs. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 5-7, 6-4, 0-0 (FGCU), unfinished
4. #106 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. STEFANACCI, Guglielmo (FGCU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) def. ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Teodor Giusca (UGA) vs. LOPEZ, Juan (FGCU) 7-6 (7-4), 1-0, unfinished 
   
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,4,2)  
    
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 & Blue in 2011. In his 12th year, Weber has compiled a 138-104 (.570) 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 to advance to their fourth NCAA 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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