College tennis: COVID-19 tracing puts FGCU men into NCAA Tournament

FGCU men's tennis began the day Tuesday hoping that redshirt freshman singles player Magnus Johnson would be selected into the NCAA singles tournament.

The Eagles ended it in the NCAA tournament as a team. And Johnson also in as an individual.

Liberty, the ASUN champion, was forced to withdraw late Tuesday afternoon, a day after the NCAA team tournament draw was announced, due to COVID-19 contact tracing. FGCU, which lost to the Flames 4-0 in the conference championship on April 24, gets the ASUN bid assuming it passes COVID-19 testing.

If so, FGCU (8-6) will replace Liberty in the bracket, meaning it will face No. 25 North Carolina State at the University of South Carolina on Friday at 10 a.m. The winner will meet either host No. 12 South Carolina or UNC Wilmington.

"This could be the most shocking thing I've experienced as a coach," FGCU coach CJ Weber said. "I feel terrible for Liberty as they played an amazing final against us but I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity for the players that will be able to go. It will be the second chance to finish our season the way we wanted from the start."

Naples' Johnson was named as the ASUN's automatic qualifier for the singles tournament that will take place from May 23-28 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 17-22.

The Flames posted the news of their withdrawal to their Twitter account at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday, nine minutes before the individual singles and doubles selections were scheduled to be announced.

The NCAA Tournament appearance would be the Eagles' fourth, all in odd-numbered years going back to 2015. FGCU has failed to win a point in three losses, the last to the University of Florida in 2019.

Johnson, who transferred from UCF and had moved to Naples several years ago, was the ASUN Freshman and Player of the Year this season.