Men’s Tennis Falls Short at Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – In a match that was tighter than the final score indicated, the FGCU men’s tennis team came up short against the Miami Hurricanes, 6-1, Friday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

Redshirt-sophomore Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) collected the lone win for the Green and Blue as he dispatched his opponent, 7-5, 6-4 on court one.

“Miami played a great match today,” said head coach CJ Weber. They really played well in doubles and got us on our heels. I was proud of the way the guys fought. It was a very entertaining match, and I felt like it was a winnable for us, but we needed more things to go our way. This team is doing a lot of things the right way, so that makes me happy to know that we can build and grow throughout this season. We’ve got another tough battle tomorrow against FAU.”

After Miami picked up the doubles point, the Hurricanes extended their lead to 3-0 with wins on courts three and five. The attempted comeback for the Eagles began there as Johnson made it 3-1 with his win.

However, the comeback ended there as redshirt-sophomore Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Miami Palmetto/Louisville) came up just short, 6-7, 5-7.

The two teams continued to play out the match as redshirt-sophomores Juan Lopez (Gachancipa, Colombia/Colegio Virtual Siglio XXI) and Marcelo Sepulveda (Monterrey, Mexico/Penn Foster/Alabama) forced third sets.

Lopez and Juan Martin Jalif went back-and-forth in the third-set super-tiebreak, but Jalif ultimately came away victorious, 10-8.

Sepulveda and Benjamin Hannestad played a full third-set and after 12 games, it was still undecided as it went to a tiebreak. In another back-and-forth battle, Hannestad walked away with an 8-6 win.

Miami 6, FGCU 1

Singles Competition

1.    JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 7-5, 6-4

2.    Benjamin Hannestad (UM) def. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6)

3.    #121 Dan Martin (UM) def. MONTES, Juan (FGCU) 6-2, 7-5

4.    Oren Vasser (UM) def. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5

5.    Martin Katz (UM) def. STEFANACCI, Gugli (FGCU) 6-3, 6-3

6.    Juan Martin Jalif (UM) def. LOPEZ, Juan (FGCU) 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 10-8

Doubles Competition

1.    #7 Benjamin Hannestad/Franco Aubone (UM) def. DAMM, Max/JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) 6-2

2.    Juan Martin Jalif/Martin Katz (UM) def. MONTES, Juan/SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) 6-3

3.    Dan Martin/Oren Vasser (UM) vs. ONCINS, Eric/WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 5-5, unfinished

It will be a quick turnaround for the Eagles as they travel to FAU tomorrow afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.

For complete coverage of FGCU men’s tennis, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MTen and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU men’s tennis or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

CJ WEBER

FGCU is led by three-time ASUN Coach of the Year CJ Weber, who has coached 32 ASUN All-Conference selections since joining the Green and Blue in 2011. In his seventh year, Weber has compiled a 105-88 (.547) overall record and a 43-19 (.672) record in ASUN play. In 2014-15, Weber guided the Eagles to their first-ever ASUN Championship and first-ever ASUN Regular Season title after a program-best 17 wins. In his third season, Weber led Jordi Vives to a No. 35 national ranking, a nation-leading 14-match unbeaten streak and the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament – the program’s first appearance. The Eagles completed a perfect ASUN regular season in both 2015 and 2016, finishing with conference titles as well as a Coach of the Year honor for Weber. FGCU again won the 2017 ASUN Championship and made its second NCAA appearance. The Eagles returned to the mountaintop by claiming the 2019 regular season and tournament championships. Weber earned his third ASUN Coach of the Year honor and led the Green and Blue to their third trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN

IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal – a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

 

#FEEDFGCU

FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics’ charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU

FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors’ Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.