FGCU Men's Tennis

The FGCU Men's Tennis has just as great reputation as the women. The team is led by C.J. Weber, who is entering in his 5th season as head coach. Weber graduated from Eastern Illinois and was an outstanding tennis player and student. While playing tennis his senior year, he was three-time Ohio Valley All-Conference selection, as well as a Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. He never went pro. Before coming to FGCU to coach, he spent his time at EIU being an assistant tennis coach and volunteered as an assistant coach for the University of Illinois and the University of Miami. Weber, with his great coaching experience with Eastern Illinois, Illinois and Miami, has great potential for these young men.

Last season, The Men's Team went 17-6 in the season, going 6-0 in conference and won their conference tournament beating UNF in the finals and securing a spot in the NCAA National Tournament before falling to #16 UCLA. This year, the team will bounce back in their conference and go to the national tournament again. This year, the team has 3 seniors: Lucas Vaz, Ricky Ventura, and Eduardo Alfonzo.

Lucas Vaz has a great reputation that shows for the team. The 6'3" senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil has plenty of experience to prove it. Prior to coming to FGCU, Lucas started his freshman year at Tulsa University of the American Athletic Conference, playing #3 singles there. It wasn't his best showing there. When he transferred over to FGCU his sophomore year, Lucas got better. Although going 8-14 in singles and 7-11 in doubles looks bad, he still did better than he did at Tulsa. At the start of his junior year, Lucas' overall singles record was 4-8, but in doubles teaming with fellow senior Ricky Ventura, he had an 11-4 record. This year, Lucas will fire up the team in a heartbeat.

Some tennis players would think that Ricky Ventura would be more of a basketball player and not a tennis player because of his height. Well if the 6'4" senior from Barcelona, Spain heard that, then you'd be a little intimidated by him, especially with a tennis ball and racket. There is not enough information on his freshman and sophomore years, but during his junior year, he was a powerhouse, finishing with a overall record of 14-5 in singles and 16-10 in doubles. Ricky was so dominant that he was named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team and won MVP of the A-Sun Champinship All-Tournament Team. So the next time someone steps up to Ricky, all I can say is be careful what he'll do, especially with a tennis ball and racket.



Eduardo Alfonzo would be considered as the top backbone of the group. The 6'1" senior from Hollywood, Florida would probably say different and it shows. Tennis runs in his family literally as his younger brother, Andres, also plays for the team. Prior to FGCU, he started his freshman year at Barry University, an NCAA DII school of the Suncoast State Conference. There he went 7-1 in singles competition and 3-0 in doubles. At his sophomore year, Eduardo went 6-1 in singles and was even invited to play in the ITA Southern Intercollegiate Tournament. At his junior year, he transferred to FGCU ad went 9-9 in singles and 6-2 in doubles and finished with an overall record of 16-15, in which he earned A-Sun Player of the week on one occasion. He did so well that he was named to the A-Sun All-Conference Second Team for Doubles and was a member of the A-Sun All-Conference Second Team for Doubles as well. This year, he has the will to keep going til the bitter end.
With 3 seniors, it's not enough. So Coach Weber found and recruited the right players to help lead them into battle: 2 juniors, 3 sophomores and 3 freshman.

The 2 juniors that bring experience for the team are Andres Alfonzo and Chris Perrigan.



Still young, but very experienced, nothing can stop the intensity of Andres Alfonzo. The 5'10" junior from Hollywood, Florida joins his older brother, Eduardo, to bring fire to the team. Prior to coming to FGCU, he first started his college tennis career at Texas Christian University of the Big 12 Conference. As a freshman, he won his first 8 matches and was named to the 2013-14 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team. After that, he transferred to FGCU his sophomore year and joined his brother. He went 8-8 in singles and 9-2 in doubles and ended his sophomore year with an overall of 18-14. For his junior year, there will be more fire than you can imagine with Andres


Chris Perrigan seems liked the soft spoken kind of player, but on the court he is like a firework. The 5'11" redshirt junior from Tallahassee, Florida is a great fit for the team. At the start of his original freshman year, he resdhirted for the whole season, but as a redshirt freshman, he had 4 wins in singles, but his doubles was a little shaky going 3-7 in doubles. As a redshirt sophomore, he went 7-6 overall with an 1-0 singles record. It will definitely turn around for Perrigan.

Although these sophomores are still young, they still pack a punch for the team: Oliver Landert, Sam Chaffin and Austin Bates.


For Oliver Landert, he has tennis in his blood just like Eduardo and Andres (brothers) and Elizabeth and Sarah Means (sisters), and for the 6'0" sophomore from Naples, Florida, it's with his older sister, Alexandra, who is a senior on the Women's Tennis Team and the most interesting part of him is he has Swiss blood in him. Before coming to FGCU, he first started his college tennis career at the University of Florida of the Southeastern Conference. There as a redshirt freshman, he was ranked 43rd in the nation in doubles play. He is still young and has a long way to go, but he can sure bring a good amount of speed for the team.


For Sam Chafin, by his appearance, he looked more like a upper class student than a sophomore, but that would be an understatement in a way. The 6'0" Tampa, Florida native has a big determination with the team. At the start of his freshman year, he had a little struggle overall with a record of 4-9, but he picked up big wins against players from Boston College, Bethune-Cookman and UAB (University of Alabama-Birmingham). This year will a big turnaround for Sam.



The final sophomore would be considered to be the "voice" of FGCU, literally and that guy would be Austin Bates. The 6'1" sophomore from Marietta, Georgia has a lot of energy to keep the team fired up for a battle. At the start of his freshman year, Bates had a good year as a freshman, with an overall record of 10-9, a 6-2 record in singles and 6-record in doubles. He did so well that he was named to the A-Sun All-Conference Second Team and A-Sun All-Freshman Team. Hopefully, he will bring more fire than anyone can imagine.

You thought I 'd stop there right? WRONG!!! Coach Weber was able to find three international freshman players to bring impact to the team: Javier Fernandez, Ezequiel Cerrini and Manfred Fellin.


For Javier Fernandez, being a great part of the team means wonders for FGCU. the 5'8" freshman from Ibiza, Spain has enough speed to make the Flash look shocked. Although there is not much information on Javi, he will still bring impact for the team.


Ezequiel Cerrini has the best will power for FGCU. Originally from Buenos Aries, Argentina, the 6'0" freshman that resided in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, about 2 hours away from FGCU, can blow your mind with his playing. From tennisrecruiting.net, Ezequiel was ranked as the No. 18 prospect and No. 868 in the ITF rankings. With his experience, he will definitely be a big help for the team.


Never underestimate certain players, especially Manfred Fellin. The 5'11" freshman from Monza, Italy can make a surprise for other players that face him. Although there is not much information on Manfred, he can definitely bring a spark to the team.

Meeting the whole Men's Tennis and seeing them play is really amazing. No one should not miss a chance to see them play because they can sure bring intensity and amazement when you see them. I'm glad I get to see them play and you should too.