FGCU MTEN vs Kennesaw Recap

 The FGCU men's tennis team (12-8, 7-0 A-SUN) earned a 4-1 victory over Kennesaw State (10-12, 4-3 A-SUN) on Senior Day Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex to close out the regular season. With the win, the Eagles now stand alone as the only undefeated team in the conference and are officially the 2019 A-SUN Men's Tennis Regular Season Champions.

"I just want to thank the four seniors and everything they have done for our team during their time here," head coach CJ Weber said. "I could not be more proud of them and thankful for all that they have done for us. I am hoping that we have a few more weeks of playing tennis with them."

Furthermore, the win happened to be his 92nd career win as head coach for FGCU.

The Eagles started off the match by continuing their dominance in doubles play by claiming the point for the seventh match in a row. The duo of seniors Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz (9-5) celebrated their last match at the Nest with a 6-3 win on court one. Junior Marcelo Tebet and sophomore Juan Montes (8-1) secured the point with a 6-3 win at the second flight.

Juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas and Felipe Ramirez (9-3) were ahead of their competitors 5-4 at court No. 3 when the doubles point was earned.

In between doubles and singles play, head coach CJ Weber recognized members of the class of 2019 – Ezequiel Cerrini, Felipe Escobar, Javier Fernandez and Mateo Ruiz – for their accomplishments in their time as Eagles.

Ruiz (3-2) continued to excel on the courts as he raced to a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the sixth flight to start off singles play. Kennesaw responded with its first point of the night when Lucas de Torres Curth defeated Escobar (7-9) at the second court, making it a 2-1 match.

Senior Javier Fernandez (12-4) picked up his ninth-straight win when he won the third set on court No. 5, putting the Green and Blue on the edge of clinching the match. This was Fernandez's 92nd career win.

After dropping the first set, Sakalauskas (12-7) claimed the next two on court four to officially hand FGCU the win and, consequently, the outright regular season title.

At the time the match was clinched, Montes (8-9) and Ramirez (8-8) were still battling through singles play. Montes was staging a comeback at the first flight after dropping the third set and Ramirez was two points away from winning at court No. 2.

The title is the third regular season championship for the Green and Blue. The Eagles also went undefeated in league play in both 2015 and 2016.

Results
Singles competition
1. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) vs. Fermin Calvo Barcelo (KSU) 3-6, 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
2. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) vs. Lucas deTorres Curth (KSU) 7-6 (9-7), 4-3, unfinished
3. Bryan Triana (KSU) def. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4, 6-2
4. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) def. Sebastian Osorio (KSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Gaston Muhammad (KSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Jose Galvez (KSU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 5, 4

Doubles competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. Harvey Maughan/Lucas deTorres Curth (KSU) 6-3
2. TEBET, Marcelo/MONTES, Juan (FGCU) def. Fermin Calvo Barcelo/Drew Lahey (KSU) 6-3
3. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Bryan Triana/Jose Galvez (KSU) 5-4
Order of finish: 1, 2

Up Next:
FGCU will compete in the 2019 A-SUN Men's Tennis Championship Thursday, April 18 – Saturday, April 20 at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center in DeLand. The team will enter as the No. 1 seed and play the winner of No. 4 Kennesaw State vs. No. 5 Stetson. The Eagles will be looking for their third tournament crown (2015, 2017).