How They Got There:
The Eagles began the first three matches at a rocky start beginning with a 5-2 loss against USF before splitting the next two matches in Phoenix, Arizona with a 6-1 loss to Grand Canyon before winning their first match against Sacramento State (5-2) before returning home for the next four matches.
The Eagles would lose their home opener to FAU (4-3) before opening A-SUN play early with a 5-2 win over UNF and splitting the next two non-conference matchups with a 6-1 win over Bethune-Cookman and a 4-3 loss to Charlotte.
After the loss to Charlotte, the Eagles entered a three-match losing streak with a loss to Penn State (7-0) in the USTA National Campus Collegiate Series in Orlando before returning home to lose 4-3 to Virginia Commonwealth.
For the next four non-conference matches, the Eagles went up and down with wins over George Washington (5-2) and UNC Wilmington (4-3) and losses to UNC Asheville and Georgia State before resuming A-SUN play with a 7-0 shutout against NJIT.
After closing non-conference play with a 4-3 win over Brown, the Eagles resumed conference play on the road with wins over Stetson (6-1), A-SUN newcomer North Alabama (7-0) and Lipscomb (5-2).
Wrapping up A-SUN play for the regular season, FGCU was in a tie for first place with the second A-SUN newcomer in Liberty and in style were able to get in sole possession of first place, the #1 seed in the A-SUN Conference Tournament and a share of the A-SUN Regular Season Championship before officially winning it after defeating Kennesaw State 4-1.
Heading into the conference tournament, the Eagles would seal the deal with 4-0 win over Kennesaw (the #4 seed) in the semifinals before defeating UNF (#3 seed) by a score of 4-2 thus claiming an automatic bid for the 2019 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament.
The Green and Blue entered the postseason as the top seed after claiming their third regular season title. Junior Marcelo Tebet earned a 7-5 win in the third set on court No. 4 to hand the team its 4-3 victory over No. 3 UNF in the final. Tebet was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Juan Montes.
Second Chance:
This will be the second NCAA Tournament appearance for four current Eagles. Seniors Ezequiel Cerrini, Javier Fernandez and Mateo Ruiz, along with junior Felipe Ramirez were members of the 2017 squad that took on the No. 15 Gators in Gainesville during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fernandez is credited with the only set win in FGCU's history in the NCAA Tournament. He defeated Florida's Johannes Ingildsen – a current junior – by a score of 6-4 in the first set of the fifth flight.
The Reveal:
The opponent revealed for the Eagles turned out to be the #3 team in the nation, the Florida Gators (21-3).
"We know that it's going to be a tough match," head coach CJ Weber said. "Regardless of who you play in the NCAA Tournament, it's really tough. I'm not focused on that, though. We haven't been focused on our opponents at all this whole season, so this week we will focus on ourselves and our attitudes. We want to be in a position to compete at the highest level that we can, regardless of who's standing on the other side of the net. We're definitely excited to be at the tournament and we're going to give it our all."
Scouting The Gators:
The Florida men's tennis team will be competing in their 29th consecutive NCAA Tournament, which is the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing UCLA (43) and Georgia (36).
The Gators have an all-time record of 51-28 in 36 total appearances, including a 22-4 mark in the first round.
The furthest the team has made is the semi-finals, having achieved this feat twice (2000, 2005).
They're currently ranked at No. 4 in the ITA team standings, behind Ohio State (1), Texas (2) and defending national champion Wake Forest (3).
Johannes Ingildsen currently leads the Gators with an overall mark of 28-11. The junior posted a 9-3 record in SEC singles play, primarily at the fourth spot in the lineup.
The duo of senior McClain Kessler and sophomore Duarte Vale owns a 13-9 record in doubles play, which includes a split mark of 8-8 at the top spot in the lineup. Vale, who primarily competes in the second half of the singles lineup, is currently on an 11-match winning streak and has not lost a match since February 10.
Series History:
This will be the second dual between the two teams, having faced off once before in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Eagles have participated in fall tournaments in Gainesville in both the 2010 and 2012 seasons, but have never competed against the Gators in the regular season.
FGCU in Nationals:
FGCU will be making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years of NCAA Division-I postseason eligibility. The Eagles are 0-2 all-time with appearances in 2015 and 2017.
With a win, the Eagles, who are the fourth seed, would advance to face the winner of second-seeded Florida State and third-seeded UCF at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. The victor in that game would move on to the Super Regional May 10-11.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air livestream individually on all six courts. Fans can also keep up with both teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MTEN
UF: @GatorsMTN
Livestats Link: https://sidearmstats.com/florida/mten/
Livestream Link: https://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-men-live-video-stats.aspx
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