FGCU MTEN vs UT-Arlington Recap

The FGCU men’s tennis team (3-5) faced UT-Arlington successfully as the Eagles won 4-2. With the win, FGCU is now 2-0 against UT-Arlington and are 3-0 at home.

“I’m extremely happy for the guys today even though we didn’t have our head coach CJ Weber here, the guys were on top of their matches,” said assistant coach Lucas Vaz, who was filling in for Weber today.

Weber was unable to be with the team due to personal reasons.

In the doubles portion, the team of junior Ezequiel Cerrini and sophomore Felipe Ramirez beat the freshman duo of Eduard Simo and Andre Russo by a score of 6-3 on court three, while the junior duo of Mateo Ruiz and Javier Fernandez defeated sophomore Enrique Pardo and junior Abhishek Bostala by a score of 6-4 on court two to claim the doubles point for FGCU.

The team of senior Austin Bates and junior Felipe Escobar fell 4-6 to the junior duo of Guanarteme Nuez and Mauricio Del Rio on court one.

“They were fighting really well, and I was just extremely proud of every single court. Mainly in doubles, we started really well, and that’s something we have been working on through the season, and I think the guys are ready,” said Vaz. “Now it’s just get ready for the next match against UNF next week and we’ll be good to go.”

Going into singles, Fernandez began with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Russo. Escobar would soon follow with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Del Rio. The Eagles buckled in the next two matches as Cerrini would fall 3-6, 3-6 to Pardo and Ramirez would fall 6-7, 4-6 to Nuez, leaving two matches left for both teams to finish.

“At the beginning, we were really quiet, but during the match, we started getting better and I think that it was an improvement that we do that we start doing new things, cross more volleys, play more aggressive and be loud. We got the “W” in doubles and singles," said Ruiz.

"Today was a tough match, but overall, I feel that the team was pretty loud with confidence and I’m happy to get the “W” for coach and the program.”

Ruiz would secure the final Eagles point with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Simo. Bates and Bostola did not finish their matches after Ruiz secured the point.

The Eagles return to action on the road as they face UNF to open conference on Friday, Mar. 2 at 6 P.M.