TAMPA, Florida – The FGCU women’s tennis team kicked off the 2021-22 season this weekend in Tampa as they competed in the Bedford Cup.

First-year student Isabelle Colmenares (San Cristobal, Venezuela / Colegio Juan XXIII) won the Vol B title with a 5-0 record in three days. She won the title Sunday morning by defeating Sierra Berry of the USF, 6-3, 1-6, 10-5. Colmenares also almost won the doubles title as well as her and junior Alba retortillo (Leon, Spain / La Anungiata) won three matches before losing in the final.

What a way to start your Eagle career!

First-year student Isabelle Colmenares Wins Bedford Cup Vol B title after going 5-0 this weekend!#WingsUp ?? pic.twitter.com/4V60dOrCCS

– FGCU Women’s Tennis (@FGCU_WTEN) October 3, 2021

“This weekend has been a great way to start our fall season,” said head coach Courtney Vernon. “Have Alba [Retortillo] and Issa [Colmenares] in the doubles final and seeing Isa win the singles championship is a huge accomplishment as a freshman. We will be looking to build this weekend and we are grateful for the opportunity we had to compete. “

On the first day of the tournament on Friday, Colemenares claimed four wins, two singles and two doubles. She beat Anique Kattenberg (UCF), 6-2, 6-4, before beating Margriet Timmermans (USF), 6-1, 6-7 (7), 10-8 while she and Retortillo defeated the teams of the FAU and the UNF to advance to the semi-finals in doubles.

Retortillo also picked up a singles victory on Friday, beating FAU’s Millie-Mae Matthews, 6-4, 7-5.

Junior Ida Ferding (Vasteras, Spain / Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) and second year Jordana Ossa (Miami, Fla. / John A. Ferguson Senior HS / Wisconsin) also had singles wins on Friday.

Ferding and junior Emma Bardet (Vichy, France / Long Beach State) beat a USF pair for a doubles victory while in second year Fanny Norin (Stockholm, Sweden) and Ossa claimed victories over the Bethune-Cookman and North Florida duos on Friday.

On Saturday Colmenares beat Ines Bekrar of CRF, 6-1, 6-2 and Grace Eland of USF, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 to advance to the final. In doubles, she and Retortillo beat a pair of CRF, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Also on Saturday, Ossa claimed a fierce singles victory 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 over Stetson’s Tess Menten before defeating Anslee Long (UNF), 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.

Norin beat FAU’s Katerina Filip, 3-6, 7-5, 10-7 on Saturday while in freshman Lola glantz (Lueneberg, Germany) claimed her first victory of the weekend, beating Laia Pasini of Stetson, 6-1, 6-3.

The Eagles will return to action when they compete at the ITA Regional Championships October 14-17 in Orlando.

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

COURTNEY VERNON HEAD COACH
The FGCU women’s tennis team is led by ASUN triple coach of the year Courtney Vernon (9th season) who led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN regular season crowns in her fifth season of 2018. She mentored her student-athletes to win 63 ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic accolades, including 2014 , 2016 and 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year as well as 2016, 2017 and 2019 College Athlete of the Year and 2018 Player of the Year. Vernon led the Greens and Blues to an overall record of 85 -64 (.570) and a conference record of 36-10 (.782).

EAGLE CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to reach our new goal – a $ 10 million campaign to meet the needs of student-athletes for continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, strength and conditioning as well as the department’s needs for expansion and improvement of facilities as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the goal of the EAGLE – Eagle Athletics Campaign to Generate Lifelong Excellence. Join our team and pledge your donation today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and 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 use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 regular season conference and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Plus, in just nine seasons of DI playoff eligibility, the Eagles brought together 42 teams or individuals competing in the NCAA Championships. Eight FGCU programs placed in the top 25 in their respective sports, including women’s basketball (# 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (# 20, 2021) and men’s football (2018 , 2019) and women’s football (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-2017, the Greens and Blues secured a sixth place, the best in the department, in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors Cup and a top 100 nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had the top seven ASUN and Florida State teams that won the NCAA Public Recognition Award for their rate of academic progress in their sport. FGCU also collectively achieved a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall semester 2020 and outperformed the general undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Fall 2020 semesters each saw another milestone, with all 15 programs achieving a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Eagles also completed a record 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two finalists for the NACDA’s First Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.