FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off two exceptional performances to open the 2014-15 season, the FGCU swimming & diving team gears up for its annual dual meet against the University of Miami, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Lee County/FGCU Aquatic Center.  
 
Having finished ahead of The U nine times in the past four seasons, with the most recent being a drastic 272-point differential in the season-opening All Florida Invite, the Eagles will look to continue their stranglehold of dominance in south Florida.  
 
"We're excited to host a very strong Miami team this weekend," head coach Neal Studd said. "They have been swimming well and we have to be ready to fight." 
 
GREEN AND BLUE OVER THE U
In its past ten meetings with the Hurricanes, three being head-to-head competition and seven others being invitationals with multiple programs represented, FGCU has totaled a combined 1,650 more points than Miami to claim nine wins over the Hurricanes the past four seasons. The two have faced off one-on-one in a dual meet seven times, resulting in a 4-3 record in the Green and Blue's favor. FGCU took down The U for the first time with a dominant 195-99 victory in the 2009 dual meet, the third season of the FGCU swimming & diving program. In last October's dual meet between the two, FGCU claimed a 175-123 victory after placing first in 10 of 16 events in Coral Gables.
 
DUAL MEET ONE AND 0
Three different Eagles posted multiple first-place finishes as FGCU earned a convincing 175-120 victory over Incarnate Word last Friday to open the home portion and Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association action for the 2014-15 season. Leading the trio of first-place finishers was senior Emma Svensson (Uppsala, Sweden/Celsiusskolan), who won the 100-yard butterfly with a 55.35, the 100 free with a 49.72 and swam butterfly in the winning 200-yard medley relay, which combined for a time of 1:41.88. Svensson's efforts garnered her a second CCSA Swimmer of the Week honor for the season. In the diving well Cayla Collins (Largo, Fla./Osceola High School) led the squad, placing second on both boards, and posting an NCAA Zones qualifying score of 267.75 on 1-meter.
 
EAGLES IN THE NATIONAL TOP 50
After a few weeks of competition in this season's campaign, the Eagles have recorded 16 times that rank in the national top 50. Of the 16 marks seven rank in the top 15, three coming from individual events and four from relays. Individually the Eagles are led by Svensson's 49.72 in the 100-yard freestyle, which ranks seventh, followed by Kira Toussaint's (Amstelveen, Netherlands/Keizer Karel College) 54.43 in the 100-yard backstroke, which is listed 11th, and Lani Cabrera's (Barbados/St. Ursala's Secondary School) 17:16.37 in the 1650-yard freestyle for 13th.
 
Listed below are the events in which FGCU has recorded a top-50 time:
 
50 FREESTYLE
21. Emma Svensson – 22.97, All Florida Invitational
 
100 FREESTYLE
7. Emma Svensson – 49.72, FGCU vs UIW
 
1650 FREESTYLE
13. Lani Cabrera – 17:16.37, All Florida Invitational
27. Kellie Roedig – 17:48.39, All Florida Invitational
39. Caroline Hamilton – 17:58.44, All Florida Invitational
41. Natalie Rochette – 18:04.54, All Florida Invitational
 
100 BACKSTROKE
11. Kira Toussaint – 54.43, All Florida Invitational
 
200 BACKSTROKE
32. Kira Toussaint – 2:00.07, All Florida Invitational
 
100 BUTTERFLY
33. Emma Svensson – 55.35, FGCU vs UIW
 
100 BREASTSTROKE
29. Evita Leter – 1:03.41, FGCU vs UIW
 
400 IM
37. Nine Schiffer – 4:28.72, All Florida Invitational
 
200 FREE RELAY
9. Toussaint, Sara Hamilton, Becky Derogatis, Svensson – 1:32.91, All Florida Invitational
 
400 FREE RELAY
21. Derogatis, Svensson, Leter, Hamilton – 3:27.66, All Florida Invitational
 
800 FREE RELAY
13. Yee Wong, Svensson, Cabrera, Toussaint – 7:38.52, All Florida Invitational
 
200 MEDLEY RELAY
15. Toussaint, Katie Armitage, Svensson, Derogatis – 1:41.69, All Florida Invitational
 
400 MEDLEY RELAY
11. Toussaint, Armitage, Wong, Svensson – 3:43.34, All Florida Invitational
 
WINGS UP FOR THE CURE
During Saturday's meet pink FGCU T-shirts will be available for purchase for $10, with all proceeds going to support the American Cancer Society. Additionally, $1 raffle tickets to win gifts cards to local restaurants will also be available, once again with all proceeds going to help find a cure for cancer.
 
Up next the Eagles will travel to Columbia, S.C. prepared to face the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in a dual meet Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.
 
For complete coverage of FGCU women's swimming and diving, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WSWIM and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available at the end of the meet.
 
FGCU is led by Neal Studd, who has garnered four CCSA Coach of the Year awards, won five CCSA Championships (2009-13) and guided the Eagles to a 25-1 CCSA all-time record since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just three years of postseason eligibility, Studd has coached NCAA Championship Meet qualifiers and competitors each of the three years, with 2014 yielding the best results to date as the Eagles claimed 32nd place and produced two CSCAA All-America honorees.
 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the 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 utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.