“The performance was great,” said head coach Courtney Vernon. “The girls played with a lot of focus today. They played with determination and they stuck to the plan, and it feels great and they are rewarded for their hard work and commitment to working.”
The Eagles have clinched the No. 1 seed prior to the conference tournament after defeating UNF to hold a share of the regular season championship on April 12.
“It’s a privilege,” said Vernon on the team being the No. 1 seed in the tournament. “We’re thankful for this opportunity, and thankful we get to play again because we’re having so much fun competing.”
Beginning with doubles, the duo of sophomore Maja Ornberg and junior Julia Ascua fell 4-6 to sophomore Lucie Renault and freshman Brooke Milner at No. 1 doubles.
The Eagles would fight back as junior Laura Falceto Font and senior Julianna "Juje" Curtis defeated freshman Danel Ashirova and senior Arijana Korac by a score of 6-2 at No. 2 doubles. Curtis earned her 55th doubles win in her career.
“I think that it was kind of surreal right now. It hadn’t really sunk in yet,” said Curtis on her last match. “Lau (Falceto Font) and I have done great this season after not playing as much in the fall. We did well and I think we just fought really hard.”
Junior Patricia Villar and freshman Madison Gallegos defeated freshman Vickey Geurinckx and sophomore Alexe Viaud by a score of 7-5 at No. 3 doubles, thus claiming the doubles point for the Eagles.
After the doubles matches, the team gathered together at the Tom Manring court as they recognized Curtis for senior night and her accomplishments on and off the court. Curtis is the only senior on the team.
"We were so grateful to celebrate Julianna this evening as the special young lady she is. We're grateful for what she has given to this university these past four years,” said Vernon on Curtis’ career performance. “Also, we are thankful for the community that supports our program and all of our donors that came out this evening for our last home match of the season. Tonight we would like to send a special thank you to Bonita Bay, who has given a scholarship to Juliana these past four years. What a gift it is to have them support us.”
Transitioning to singles, Ascua began with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ashivora before Ornberg followed with 6-1, 6-3 win over Korac. This was Ornberg’s 14th singles win of the season (seventh straight).
With the score 3-0 in favor of the Eagles, sophomore Sofia Perez, who helped the Eagles clinch the No. 1 seed and a share of the A-SUN Regular Season Championship with the win against UNF, once again sealed the deal for the Eagles, earning her 10th singles win (7th straight) of the season as she defeated Milner 6-1, 6-4. This was the third time that Perez clinched a game-winner for the Eagles.
“I’m just very happy that we were very loud and very energetic, and we came and got it done," said Perez. “Honestly, I felt I didn’t even know I was clinching, but I just kept it going.”
The Eagles would finish out the rest of the matches as sophomore Bridget Forster defeated freshman Maxine Bateman 6-3, 6-2. Font would follow with 6-2, 6-4 win over Geurinckx before Gallegos defeated Renault 6-1, 6-4 to complete the sweep.
As the No. 1 seed, the Eagles will have a first-round bye prior to the tournament as they will await the winner between No. 4 seed Stetson and the No. 5 seed Kennesaw State.
"I'm just being very humble going into the championship," Perez said on FGCU being the No. 1 seed. "We're gonna give all we have with lots of energy."
I'm so proud of the ladies and what they did and I'm very happy that I get to graduate on the same day as the lone senior, even if it's at different times. I even got to do a special interview with her
Below are pictures of me with the team:
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| With Curtis after the game |
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| I even kissed her on the cheek |
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| With the Whole Team (Front: Ascua (left) and Perez (right) holding the "W" Flag. From left to right back row: Gallegos, Falceto Font, me, Curtis, Forster, Ornberg and Villar |
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| Senior Day Poster |
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| Birthday Poster |
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| A card and a photo of me and the team. It was so nice of them to do that |
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| From assistant coach Alex Landert |
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| From Coach V |
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| From Maja (The Swedish Sensation) |
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| From Juje (Juju on that beat) |
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| From Madison (Maddy) |
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| From Juli (The Jet) |
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| From Patri (Prime Time) |
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| From Bridget (The Bomber) |
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| From Sofi (Costa Rican Crusader) |
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| From Lau (Lioness of Espana) |
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