BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – The FGCU men’s tennis team played in Southwest Florida for the first time this fall as they kicked off the Bonita Bay Classic, Friday. Playing a combination of players from Nebraska and Virginia Tech, the Eagles picked up a pair of wins in both singles and doubles.

“I felt Nebraska competed really well today and that’s why they were able to nip us,” said head coach CJ Weber. “It was a great day of competition for our guys. Hopefully we’re learning and growing and looking to get tougher. Tomorrow is going to be another day to battle. But what an awesome tournament this is. We’re so grateful to have Bonita Bay commit so much support to this event! It’s such a special tournament, and we’re very happy and privileged to be able to bring college tennis to such an amazing club right in our backyard!”

In singles, Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla.) took care of business against Calvin Mueller of Nebraska as the #123 player in the country defeated the Cornhusker, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Guglielmo Stefanacci (Prato, Italy) also collected a singles win as he defeated Nebraska’s Nic Weidenhorn in a third-set 10-point tiebreaker, 10-3, after splitting the first two sets.

In doubles, Stefanacci paired with Eric Oncins (Orlando, Fla.) to take down Rudi Christiansen and Shunya Maruyama of Nebraska, 7-6 (5) while Randy Wilson (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Max Damm (Bradenton, Fla.) defeated Calvin Mueller and Lars Johann, also of Nebraska, 6-4.

The Eagles will return to the courts tomorrow to take on individuals from Virginia Tech before closing out the weekend against Memphis on Sunday.

Singles Results

#123 Magnus Johnson (FGCU) def. Calvin Mueller (Nebraska), 7-6 (4), 6-1

Lars Johann (Nebraska) def. Marcelo Sepulveda (FGCU), 6-3, 6-3

Shumya Maruyama (Nebraska) def. Randy Wilson (FGCU), 5-7, 6-3, 10-4

Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) def. Nic Weidenhorn (Nebraska), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 10-3

Rudi Christiansen (Nebraska) def. Eric Oncins (FGCU), 6-4, 6-3

Will Gleason (Nebraska) def. Max Damm (FGCU), 6-2, 6-0

Matt Harper (Virginia Tech) def. Carter Bradford (FGCU), 6-0, 6-1

 

Doubles Results

Gleason/Wiedenhorn (Nebraska) def. Johnson/Sepulveda (FGCU), 6-3

Wilson/Damm (FGCU) def. Mueller/Johann (Nebraska), 6-4

Oncins/Stefanacci (FGCU) def. Maruyam/Christiansen (Nebraska), 7-6 (5)

Ariza/Thompson (Virginia Tech) def. Lopez/Bradford (FGCU), 7-6 (3)

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 12th year, Weber has compiled a 123-95 (.564) overall record and a 51-19 (.729) 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.  In 2022, Weber led the Eagles to another ASUN regular-season title while reaching #65 in the ITA rankings, the highest in program history.

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 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men’s golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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.