FGCU MTEN vs Liberty Preview

The FGCU men's tennis team (10-8, 5-0 A-SUN) look to continue their strong finish in A-SUN Conference play as they welcome Liberty (11-9, 5-0 A-SUN) to the FGCU Tennis Complex Thursday, April 11 at 5 pm.

"I had this match circled on the calendar before we even knew that we would both be undefeated in the conference at this point," head coach CJ Weber said. "Mainly that was because they are a new team to our conference and that's always fun. We're looking forward to another tough A-SUN battle and a great Southwest Florida environment! I want to encourage all fans to get out to this one."

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a successful three-match road trip in conference play as they defeated Stetson 6-1, A-SUN newcomer North Alabama 7-0 and Lipscomb 5-2. The Eagles enter their next match on a five-match winning streak.

Conference Standings:
1. FGCU * 5-0 (10-8)
2. Liberty * 5-0 (11-9)
3. North Florida 3-2 (10-10)
4. Kennesaw State 3-2 (9-10)
5. Lipscomb 2-3 (7-11)
6. Stetson 1-4 (9-11)
7. North Alabama 1-4 (3-14)
8. NJIT 0-5 (4-13)

What's at Stake:
The match between FGCU and Liberty will determine who will get the #1 seed in the A-SUN Conference Tournament. Both teams have already clinched a spot in the tournament and are in line for a first round bye.

As far as the team in doubles, the team of junior Marcelo Tebet and sophomore Juan Montes (6-1) continue their dominance at #2 doubles while the team of juniors Felipe Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas (8-3) do the same at #3 doubles as well as the senior duo of Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz (8-5) at #1 doubles.

Meanwhile in singles play, Tebet, Sakalauskas and senior Javier Fernandez have all reached double figures as the trio have 10 wins each.

For Fernandez, the native of Ibiza, Spain is at 90 career wins with FGCU and is 10 away from reaching 100.

To be honest, do I think Javi can reach 100 career wins? confidentially, I want to say yes, bur realistically, it's doubtful.

Coach 100:
As far as other milestones, head coach CJ Weber, who is entering his 8th season as head coach. is also on path for a milestone of his own, 100 career wins as head coach for FGCU. Weber started his inaugural season in the 2011-12 season where he went 7-10 with a 4-5 record in conference.

Scouting Liberty:
The Flames enter the contest on a five-match winning streak with their most recent win being a 4-3 nail biter against UNF on their senior day.

Freshman Josh Wilson and sophomore Nicaise Muamba lead the team in singles action with Wilson leading the way with 15 singles win and Muamaba with 14. Junior Chase Burton also has double digit wins as he currently has 10.

In doubles, Muamba and Burton lead the team with a 10-6 record at #1 doubles.

This will be the second time that both teams play each other. The first time was on February 6, 2015 where the Eagles won 6-1 in Miami.

How to Keep Up:
For complete coverage of FGCU men's tennis follow us on Twitter & Instagram @FGCU_MTEN and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of the competition.