Courtney Vernon enters her 11th year (2023-24) as the head coach of the FGCU women’s tennis program. She was hired on on Sept. 16, 2013.
During her 10-year tenure, Vernon has taken the program to new heights, having led the Eagles to three ASUN Regular Season Championships (2017, 2018, 2022), inclusive of its winningest season in program history in 2016-17. Vernon has also led the Eagles to five ASUN Championship final appearances, (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021).
Vernon has guided the Green and Blue to a overall record of 115-80 and a 50-13 mark in conference play during her time at FGCU. Additionally, she has not only been named the ASUN Coach of the Year three times (2016, 2017, 2018), but was also named the 2017 USPTA Florida Division College Coach of the Year. Vernon has also mentored her student-athletes into earning a total of 66 ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic honors, including the 2014, 2016 and 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year, the 2016 2017, 2019 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the program's first ASUN Player of the Year in 2018.
Vernon led the Eagles to a 16-7 overall record and defeated non conference opponents St. John's, FAU, MTSU, Army, Cincinnati. and Mercer. The Eagles also defeated South Florida. The win was the Eagles' first against the Bulls in six years, and the second victory in their past 13 meetings. The Eagles held a seven game winning streak in conference action and earned the 71st spot on the ITA Rankings.
In 2022, Vernon guided FGCU to a share of the Eagles' third ASUN regular-season crown in program history, amassing a 14-7 overall record and a 8-1 mark in the ASUN. Vernon also directed the Green and Blue to a ranked team status as one of the ITA's top 75 women's tennis squads in 2022, highest at No. 62 and a program-best final mark of No. 71.
Vernon’s No. 1 doubles pair, Emma Bardet and Ida Ferding cracked the ITA rankings as well at No. 85. Together, Bardet and Ferding posted a team-leading 13 doubles team wins on the year and a 8-1 record in the ASUN. Bardet and Ferding defeated the 15th-ranked duo in the country in Kit Gulihur and Ana Paula Melilo of North Florida 6-2.
Three Eagles earned ASUN honors in 2022. Bardet was named to the ASUN All-Academic Team, Fanny Norin was named All-Conference Second Team and Isabella Colmenares was named to the All-Freshman Team.
In 2021, FGCU finished the abbreviated '21 season with an 8-7 record while making its fifth overall appearance in the ASUN Championship final.
Maja Ornberg was named one of the conference's two nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award, joining Liberty's Cora Duininck. The pair was selected through a vote of the league's senior woman administrators.
Fanny Norin landed on the ASUN First Team to go along with All-Freshman Team honors. Ida Ferding and Alba Retortillo each landed on the Second Team. Maja Ornberg was named to the ASUN All-Academic team for the second time in her Eagle career.
Vernon’s squad again earned All-Academic Team honors in 2022 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as six Eagles were named to the ITA Scholar-Athlete list.
During 2021-22, the Eagles recorded a 3.7 spring GPA in the classroom as they held a 3.60 overall cumulative GPA for the entire academic year. The following Eagles were recognized as ITA Scholar-Athletes – Emma Bardet, Ida Ferding, Lola Glantz, Gabriela Macias, Fanny Norin and Jordana Ossa.
Since 2015, the Eagles have been named an ITA All-Academic Team seven of the last nine seasons.
ASUN All-Decade Players
Maja Ornberg (2017-pres.)
Julia Ascua (2016-19)
Breana Stampfli (2014-17)
ASUN Freshman of the Year
Breana Stampfli (2014)
Joselyn Treyes Albarracin (2016)
Maja Ornberg (2017)
ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Elizabeth Means (2016)
Julianna Curtis (2017)
Julia Ascua (2019)
ASUN Player of the Year
Maja Ornberg (2018)
Before the 2020 season was cut short due the the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles held a 5-7 record, going 1-0 in ASUN play as they defeated Lipscomb, 6-1.
The 2019 season saw the Eagles finish with an 11-10 overall record, going 4-3 in conference play. FGCU received its first ITA top-50 ranking during the regular season as the squad was dubbed 50th. Following a win over host Stetson, the Eagles mounted a historic comeback in the ASUN Tournament semifinals to head in the finals. Liberty took a 3-0 lead before the Green and Blue stormed back to win, 4-3. FGCU eventually fell to UNF in the finals in what proved to be a nail-biting 4-3 battle.
Since the Division I era (2007-08), FGCU has now completed four comeback wins when trailing 3-0 – Stetson 2012, FAU & UNF 2018, and Liberty 2019. This is the first time the Green and Blue have completed such feat in postseason play.
Ascua was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Ornberg landed on the First Team while Sara Kelly found a spot on the Second Team.
During the 2018 campaign, FGCU concluded the year going 10-8 overall, capturing its second-straight ASUN regular season title after going a perfect 6-0 in conference play for a second consecutive year. The Eagles snagged their first win over a BIG 10 foe in Minnesota as they defeated the Golden Gophers on Mar. 12 in a 4-3 battle. All said the Green and Blue nabbed a total of 13 All-Conference awards including the aforementioned ASUN Player of the Year in Maja Ornberg.
Vernon and the Eagles capped off the 2016-17 season with a program-best 15-5 record and claimed the team’s first ASUN Championship after going a perfect 6-0 in league play. Vernon went on to be named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the second time. After coming up short in each of the last two seasons against UNF, FGCU defeated the Ospreys, 4-3, in the regular-season finale to claim the ASUN Regular Season Championship. The win against UNF not only snapped its streak of three straight regular season championships, but was also the Osprey's first conference loss since Mar. 22, 2013 – a span of 30 matches. Additionally, it marked the 50th career win for Vernon. A week later, the Eagles and Ospreys squared off in the ASUN Championship Final for the third straight season, but UNF exacted revenge as the Ospreys claimed a 4-3 win to advance to the NCAA Tournament after a match in #5 singles had to be forfeited due to injury.
During the 2015-16 season, Vernon led FGCU to its then-best finish in ASUN history as the Eagles finished the regular season in second place with a 5-1 conference mark. Consequently, Vernon was named the ASUN Co-Coach of the Year and led the team back to the ASUN Championship Final for the second straight season. She also mentored her second ASUN Freshman of the Year in a three-year period, first ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and led the Eagles to a win against in-state rival UCF for the first time in program history.
In her second season with the Green and Blue, Vernon took the Eagles to its first ASUN Championship final match in program history. As the No. 3 seed, FGCU registered a pair of tournament wins against No. 6 Kennesaw State and No. 2 Stetson before ultimately falling to No. 1 UNF, 4-1.
Along with the aforementioned winningest season in program history, Vernon also recruited and coached the ASUN Freshman of the Year Breana Stampfli during her first season with the Eagles.
Along with their athletic achievements, Vernon has led her team to the highest individual sport GPA (3.77) for the spring 2016 semester as well as the NCAA Public Recognition Award for 2014-15 and 2015-16. The award was bestowed upon teams with an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
Prior to joining the FGCU family, Vernon served as an assistant coach for three years at the collegiate level and as a player both professionally and collegiately. Most recently, Vernon served as the assistant women’s tennis coach for her alma mater, USF, since July 2012.
She inherited a program which only lost one senior and posted its most successful season since making the transition to Division I in 2007. The Eagles won a record 11 matches in 2012-13 – marking the second consecutive season of double-digit victories – en route to earning another berth in the ASUN Championship.
During her coaching tenure at USF, the Bulls finished as the Big East runner-up last year, losing to top-seeded Notre Dame in the tournament final. Among several responsibilities, Vernon oversaw the academic progress of all players, and in part to her dedicated efforts the women’s tennis team finished with the highest GPA of all teams at USF.
Prior to her time at USF, Vernon spent two years as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Colgate University from 2010-12. While at the central New York school, she recruited and coached Patriot League Rookie of the Year Luke Gensburg, directed the first-ever Nike Tennis Camp and organized free tennis clinics for the Hamilton community. Maintaining her philosophy of succeeding on the court and in the classroom, Vernon was part of an Athletic Department at Colgate that had the No. 1 Graduation Rate in college athletics.
Vernon’s academic success at both Colgate and USF is a perfect fit for FGCU. In the Spring 2013 semester, the women’s tennis team earned a record-breaking 3.78 cumulative GPA, the best-ever team GPA mark for an Eagles’ program.
As a player with the Bulls, Vernon served as the team captain and No. 1 and 2 player for USF during the 2006-07 season in which she went a perfect 23-0 and qualified for the NCAA singles championship. Entering the year she was listed by the International Tennis Association (ITA) as the South Region’s “Player to Watch,” and lived up to that distinction by earning a singles ITA Collegiate Ranking as high as No. 38.
Vernon turned pro in 2007 (forfeiting her collegiate eligibility) and had her best two finishes in top International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments, reaching the singles quarterfinals at Evansville, Ind., and St. Joseph, Mo., and making it to the semifinal round of both events in doubles action. She also competed in Pro Circuit tournaments in Japan, Mexico and Australia. Vernon’s highest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles ranking was No. 638, while her highest doubles WTA ranking was No. 811.
In 2008-09 during her final year at USF, Vernon served as an undergraduate assistant tennis coach. She went on to earn her a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in June 2009. From 2009-10, Vernon held a coaching and administrative assistant role at TennisLMS – a training center for professional Kelly Jones where she coached select high school, collegiate and pre-professional players.
Growing up outside Cleveland in Solon, Ohio, Vernon was ranked among the best young tennis players in the region and nation. In 2003 she was the No. 4-ranked singles player 18 and Under in the Midwest, and also the No. 13 ranked singles player in the same demographic nationally. Furthermore, she was one half of a doubles pairing which was ranked the third-best team in the nation 18 and Under.
What They’re Saying About Courtney
“Courtney is very organized, an extremely hard worker and a loyal person. She has the determination to be a great head coach, and I know that she will do a tremendous job. In addition to being coached by extremely talented tennis players, she’s also an unbelievable athlete and I’m exceptionally happy for this wonderful opportunity for her.”
-Augustine Moreno, LMU Head Women’s Tennis Coach
Last updated 5/2/23
