FGCU WTEN: A-SUN Tournament Preview

The FGCU women's tennis team (10-7, 6-0 A-SUN) prepare for the A-SUN Conference Tournament hosted by UNF.

Official Brackets:
For the women, the standing are as noted with the teams' overall and conference standings for the tournament:
1. FGCU (10-7, 6-0 A-SUN)
2. UNF (15-7, 5-1 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (10-11, 4-2 A-SUN)
4. Stetson (11-8, 3-3 A-SUN)
5. Kennesaw (3-14, 2-4 A-SUN)
6. NJIT (8-11, 1-5 A-SUN)

USC Upstate (1-19, 0-6 A-SUN) did not qualify for the conference tournament based on their overall record.

Farewell Upstate:
USC Upstate has finished their last season for women's tennis as a member of the A-SUN Conference since 2007. At the start of the 2018-19 season, Upstate will be moving to the Big South Conference due to travel costs. Upstate will join former A-SUN Conference members Campbell and Gardner-Webb.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles faced Stetson in their last regular season matchup where they defeated the Hatters 7-0. The Eagles earned the No. 1 seed after beating UNF in a nail biter of a matchup and with the win against Stetson, the Eagles were named A-SUN Regular Season Champions and earned a first-round bye in the tournament.

Lucky 13:
The Eagles claimed 13 awards and honor prior to the tournament:

A-SUN Coach of the Year:
Head coach Courtney Vernon was named A-SUN Coach of the Year. In her fifth season with the Eagles, Vernon has been named the A-SUN Coach of the Year for the third-straight season, taking it outright for a consecutive season.

After tonight's announcements, Vernon has coached the Eagles to a total of 56 All-Conference and All-Academic honors in her five years in Southwest Florida.

A-SUN Player of the Year:
After winning the A-SUN Freshman of the Year last season, sophomore Maja Ornberg was named A-SUN Player of the Year. The Kil, Sweden native was one of three Eagles to turn in double-digit wins as she went 14-3 in dual match action and posted a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play at No. 1 singles.

A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Ornberg joined junior Julia Ascua on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, her second straight. Ascua, who went 8-9 in singles (primarily at No. 2 Singles) and was recently named A-SUN Player of the Week, earned A-SUN All-Conference First Team honors for the third straight year.

A-SUN All-Conference Second Team/A-SUN All-Freshman Team:
Four Eagles were named to the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team for singles: freshman Madison Gallegos, junior Patricia Villar and sophomores Sofia Perez and Bridget Forster.

Gallegos, the lone freshman on the team, played her majority of tennis matches at No. 3 singles where she claimed six victories. The Denver native capped off the regular season collecting 14 overall wins, nine alone in dual play (9-8 record), and a 4-2 record against conference foes. Gallegos was named a unanimous selection on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.

Since transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, Villar finished 6-6 in singles with a 3-0 record in conference, majorly at the No. 6 singles. The native of Logrono, Spain primarily played with Gallegos and the duo is currently 6-2 overall with a 5-0 record in conference.

Villar and Gallegos were also named as one of three teams on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team in doubles.

After receiving more playing time on the courts from last year, Perez, who was transitioning between No. 3 and No. 6 singles before officially playing at the No. 5 singles, displayed an impressive 10-4 overall record in singles with a perfect 6-0 record in conference. Three of Perez's conference wins in singles were final match winners (Kennesaw, UNF, Stetson). Perez helped clinch the No. 1 seed for the tournament after winning the final match against UNF's Valentina Mariotto. Perez's 10 wins tied for the second most on the team. This was the first postseason award for the native of Alajuela, Costa Rica.

After being a part of the A-SUN All-Freshman team last season with former player Sara Kelly, Forster joins Ornberg and Perez with a perfect 6-0 singles record in conference. The native of Boca Raton provided a 10-3 record in singles transitioning between No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Forster ties Perez for the second most wins on the season.

A-SUN All-Academic Team:
On the A-SUN All-Academic Team, Ascua (4.0) and Forster (3.8) are joined by lone senior Julianna Curtis (4.0). Curtis primarily played at No. 2 doubles with junior Laura Falceto Font and earned her third straight All-Academic Team honors. Battling with a back injury, Curtis went 5-4 with Falceto Font in doubles. Curtis put together a 20-23 career record in singles and a 35-24 record in doubles with 27 of her doubles wins being played with Ascua. The West Des Moines native was last season's A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

"These ladies are well deserving of these honors and they have worked hard," said Vernon. "I am thankful they are being acknowledged for their hard work."

ESPN+:
The A-SUN Conference Tournament will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+ which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN game and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.

Tournament Walk-through:
FGCU and UNF will have a first-round bye as they are the  No. 1 and No. 2 seed (#1 FGCU, #2 UNF). Seeds 3-6 will face each other to determine who will face FGCU and UNF. No. 3 seed Lipscomb will face No. 6 seed NJIT at 5 P.M. to determine who will play UNF while No. 4 seed Stetson and No. 5 seed Kennesaw will face each other at 2:30 P.M. to determine who will play FGCU.

The winner of the tournament will claim an automatic bid and represent the A-SUN in the national tournament in Salem, N.C.