FGCU WTEN vs Kennesaw Recap

The FGCU women’s tennis team (6-7, 2-0 A-SUN) wrapped up their two-match conference road trip with a win against Kennesaw State (1-12, 0-2 A-SUN) as the Eagles shutout the Owls 7-0 to conclude the first of their two conference road trips.

With the win, the Eagles are now 10-2 overall against the Owls. In addition, with the win, the Eagles are now tied for first place with UNF in the A-SUN.

"We knew Kennesaw would fight," said head coach Courtney Vernon. "I was pleased with the focus the girls showed today. We talked about the plan before the match and the intent remained the same the entire match as they did not let up. We look forward to getting back to work on Monday to prepare for NJIT."

Beginning with the doubles portion, the duo of junior Julia Ascua and sophomore Maja Ornberg made quick work as they defeated junior Jessica Cantrell and senior Alexandra Mercado 6-1 in No. 1 doubles.

Playing at No. 3 doubles, sophomores Sofia Perez and Bridget Forster were just as quick to follow with a 6-2 win over senior Kennedy Craig and sophomore Aspen Jarrett claiming the doubles point for the Eagles.

Freshman Madison Gallegos and junior Patricia Villar did not finish their match against sophomore Jada Tijani and senior Laura Hopton as the Eagles claimed the doubles point.

Transitioning to singles play, an unfazed Forster would quickly claim the first singles point for FGCU with a pair of 6-1 decision win against Jarrett at No. 5 singles.

Villar would then follow with 6-2, 6-0 win over freshman Breanna Reilly at No. 6 singles before Perez claimed the final stamp as the Costa Rica native won her match 6-4, 6-2 over Cantrell at the No. 4 singles and giving the Eagles the win.

Villar claimed her fifth singles win while Perez and Forster claimed their sixth singles wins of the season. Perez had also her second straight singles win in conference.

The final three matches continued as Ascua would win 6-2, 6-3 over Craig at No. 2 singles. Ornberg would follow a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mercado at No. 1 singles. This was Ornberg’s 10th win of the season.

Gallegos finished strongly in her first set before buckling in the second, but the Denver native did not seemed fazed at all as she finished strongly in the third set tiebreaker and successfully got the Eagles the shutout with a 6-1, 4-6, 10-6 win over Hopton at No. 3 singles.

The Eagles return for a two-match homestead as they face NJIT and USC Upstate to continue conference play.