FGCU MTEN/WTEN vs Kennesaw Preview

The FGCU men's (11-8, 6-0 A-SUN) and women's (8-9, 3-3 A-SUN tennis teams will compete at the FGCU Tennis Complex for the last time this season against Kennesaw State's men's (10-11, 4-2 A-SUN) and women's (2-16, 1-5 A-SUN) teams at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 13. The four seniors for the men – Ezequiel Cerrini, Felipe Escobar, Javier Fernandez and Mateo Ruiz – and for the women – Julia Ascúa, Laura Falceto-Font and Patricia Villar – will be honored in between doubles and singles play. The women will also recognize junior Bridget Forster as it is her last season of competition.

"Senior Day is always a very special day at the FGCU Tennis Courts," head coach CJ Weber said. "I've been blessed once again to be able to coach four amazing young men that we will be celebrating tomorrow. On top of that, we get the opportunity to win the regular season championship outright. It'll most certainly be a great match and we're looking forward to putting on one last show to the Southwest Florida tennis community for the 2019 season."

Last Time Out:
The men defeated Liberty 6-1 at the FGCU Tennis Complex on Thursday night to claim no worse than a share of the 2019 A-SUN Regular Season Championship. The title is the third regular-season crown and fifth overall for the Green and Blue since 2015.With the win, FGCU has locked up the No. 1 seed in the 2019 A-SUN Championship.

The Green and Blue started things off by securing the doubles point for the sixth match in a row. Junior Marcelo Tebet and sophomore Juan Montes (7-1) earned a 6-4 win at the second flight. Juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas and Felipe Ramirez (9-3) followed up with a 6-4 victory at court three to earn the point.

Tebet (11-5) started off singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph at the second court. Senior Javier Fernandez (11-4) won his eighth-straight match 6-1, 6-4 at the sixth flight. It was also his 91st career win with the Eagles.

Escobar (7-8) clinched the match for the home team with a straight-set 6-1, 6-4 win on court No. 3. Sakalauskas (11-7) followed up with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the fifth flight and Ramirez (8-8) rounded out the scoring with a 10-8 tiebreaker win on court No. 2 to put the Eagles up 6-0.

Meanwhile for the women, they split two matches on the road against North Alabama and Lipscomb. FGCU defeated the Lions 6-1 (Apr. 3) before falling to the Bison, 5-2 (Apr. 6.). FGCU clinched the doubles point versus UNA with a pair of 6-0 and 6-4 decisions and captured all but one match in singles play as Ascúa clinched the match on court No. 3 (6-0, 7-5).

With Thursday's result of Stetson defeating North Alabama, the Eagles officially clinched a spot in the 2019 A-SUN Tournament with seeding still to be determined.

Against Lipscomb, the Eagles collected their points in singles play from sophomore Sara Kelly on court No. 2 (0-6, 7-6, 6-3) and Forster on court No. 6 (6-0, 6-4).

Scouting the Owls (Men):
This will be the 11th meeting in the series between the two teams, which the Eagles lead 6-4. The Green and Blue own a 3-1 record at the FGCU Tennis Complex and a 3-3 edge at the Owls' Betty Siegel Courts.

Kennesaw State has won the last two meetings, including a 4-3 victory in Fort Myers in 2017 and a 5-2 home win last season.The Owls are currently tied for third in the A-SUN standings with UNF. Kennesaw State has picked up wins against Lipscomb, North Alabama, Stetson and NJIT. Both UNF and Liberty defeated Kennesaw State by a score of 5-2.

Freshman Jose Gavez leads the team with a 4-0 mark in conference singles play. Junior Sebastian Osorio is 4-2 against A-SUN opponents but owns a team-best overall record of 11-6.

Scouting the Owls (Women):
In singles competition, freshman Kendall Nash leads the overall squad with six wins as she's collected three wins on court No. 4. Junior Aspen Jarrett plays primarily out of the No. 6 slot, going 3-5 with a pair of wins in conference action. Meanwhile in doubles play, junior Elle Baker and Jarrett have teamed up for a win on court No. 2.

FGCU leads the all-time series 10-2 as they last fell to KSU in 2011 on the road (5-2). The Eagles currently hold an eight-match win streak over the Owls.

A-SUN Conference Standings (Men)
1. FGCU (11-8, 6-0 A-SUN) *
2. Liberty (11-10, 5-1 A-SUN) *
T-3. UNF (11-10, 4-2 A-SUN) *
T-3. Kennesaw State (10-11, 4-2 A-SUN) *
T-5. Stetson (10-11, 2-4 A-SUN) *
T-5. Lipscomb (7-12, 2-4 A-SUN) *
7. North Alabama (3-15, 1-5 A-SUN)
8. NJIT (4-14, 0-6 A-SUN)

A-SUN Conference Standings (Women)
T-1. Liberty – (14-6, 5-1 A-SUN)
T-1. UNF – (14-7, 5-1 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb – (15-5, 4-2 A-SUN)
T-4. Stetson – (12-7, 3-3 A-SUN)
T-4. FGCU – (8-9, 3-3 A-SUN)
6. NJIT – (13-7, 2-4 A-SUN)
T-7. UNA – (6-15, 1-5 A-SUN)
T-7. KSU –( 2-16, 1-5 A-SUN)
* - Clinched a spot in A-SUN Championship