Due to inclement weather in Georgia, the FGCU women’s tennis team did not travel and instead played a match in-state against #17 Miami in Coral Gables.
The Eagles fell 6-1 with the lone win coming in singles from Madison Gallegos in two tight sets. The Hurricanes have two top-60 players in the nation at both #1 and #2 singles as well as the 33^rd best doubles pairing.
“Today was another great learning experience,” said head coach Courtney Vernon. “Miami is one of the toughest teams in the country and it showed in their aggressive play. We are making progress each outing due to our hard work and how we’re being challenged.  We look forward to practice this week as we prepare for Middle Tennessee this weekend at home.”
Julia Ascua and Julianna Curtis fell to that top doubles pairing and both Gallegos/Maja Ornberg and Bridget Foster/Sofia Perez only won two games in their respective doubles matches, as Miami earned the first point.
FGCU quickly dropped the first two singles matches and the Hurricanes were able to clinch the win with Ulyana Shirokova defeating Villar 6-4, 6-0. The teams though continued the matches already in progress, and Perez was almost able to force a third set, but she fell in a second set tiebreaker.
Gallegos’ win was also close throughout, but she was able to prevail 7-6,7-5 to earn her win. She has now won all three of her matches to start the spring season.
The loss drops the Eagles record to 1-2 overall, but they will have a chance to even it up to two on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. when Middle Tennessee comes to Fort Myers. The Blue Raiders are currently 7-3 and are coming off wins against UT-Martin and Samford.