Women’s Tennis Climbs to # 70 in ITA Rankings

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a thrilling 4-3 win over St. John’s, the FGCU Women’s tennis team jumped four spots in the latest ITA rankings to # 70.

“Proud of the ladies and their hard work,” said the good Coach Courtney Vernon. “We will continue to work hard and look forward to competing again next week against Florida State.”

In addition to the Red Storm, the Eagles have also taken down # 68 South Alabama, # 75 Toledo, Georgia State, and Florida A&M

Sophomore Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla./John A. Ferguson Senior High / Wisconsin) clinched the match for FGCU against the Johnnies and now has an 8-1 singles record this year to lead the team. Junior Alba Retortillo (Leon, Spain / La Anunciata) also picked up a win against St. John’s which brings her up to six for the season.

In doubles, Retortillo and freshman Isabella Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela / Colegio Juan XXIII) lead the Green and Blue with five victories.

In the poll, North Carolina sits at the top with a perfect 13-0 record. Overall, there are seven schools from the state of Florida ranked – # 13 Florida, # 14 Miami, # 30 FIU, # 32 UCF, # 54 Florida State, and # 70 FGCU. The full rankings can be seen here.

The Eagles will return to action on March 13 when they host # 54 Florida State. First serve from the FGCU Tennis Complex is set for 10:30 am

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

HEAD COACH COURTNEY VERNON
FGCU’s Women’s tennis team is led by a three-time ASUN Coach of the Year Courtney Vernon (9th season) who led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN regular-season Crowns in her fifth season in 2018. She has mentored her student-Athletes into earning 63 ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic honors, including 2014, 2016, and 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year as well as the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2018 Player of the Year. Vernon has led the Green and Blue to an 88-65 overall record (.576) and 36-10 conference record (.782).

EAGLE 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 EAGLE 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 DI postseason Eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in the NCAA Championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports – 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 earned 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 of 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.