COLUMBIA, S.C. – The FGCU swimming & diving team pick up its first loss of the season Friday night against the University of South Carolina, falling 166-131 to the Gamecocks. The loss moves the Eagles to 2-1 on the season and improves
South Carolina to 3-1.
On Friday afternoon, CollegeSwimming.com released its first wave of NCAA Division-I Power Rankings, naming FGCU as No. 28, the highest in program history, and South Carolina as No. 27.
"The girls fought hard tonight," head coach
Neal Studd said. "The 11 hour bus trip to Columbia was tough but they had a great attitude and competed with a big SEC program very well."
The Green and Blue registered six first-place finishes, coming from two winning relays and four individual events. Having another standout night for FGCU was
Emma Svensson (Uppsala, Sweden/Celsiusskolan), who swam butterfly for the winning 200-yard medley relay team, finished first individually in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle and capped the evening as the first leg in the winning 200-yard freestyle relay. Joining Svensson with individual first-place touches were
Kira Toussaint (Amstelveen, Netherlands/Keizer Karel College) and
Yee Wong (Hong Kong, China/Dlocesan Girls' School) as FGCU earned seven second-place finishes in Friday's contest.
For the second-straight week the Eagles swept the relays, winning the 200-yard medley and the 200-yard freestyle. Starting the meet with a victory was the team of Toussaint,
Evita Leter (Paramaribo, Suriname/Doral Academy), Svensson and
Rebecca Derogatis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./ Cardinal Gibbons HS/Indian River) winning the 200 medley with a 1:41.99, before Svensson, Derogatis,
Sara Hamilton (Stonehaven, Scotland/Mackie Academy) and
Kristen Julien (San Fernand, Trinidad and Tobago/St. Stephen's College) ended the night with a 1:34.33 to win the 200 free.
Svensson turned in a couple of dominant performances racing her signature stroke, touching first in the 50-yard freestyle with a 23.07 and the 100-yard event with a 50.00.
Toussaint continued to shine in backstroke, recording a season low in the 200-yard race (1:58.91) to surpass the 1:59.70 she clocked against Miami, which ranked 39th in the nation.
Freshman Wong won the 200 butterfly for the second-straight meet, this time recording a season-low 2:03.51.
Leading the Green and Blue in the diving well for the fourth time this season was senior
Cayla Collins (Largo, Fla./Osceola High School) placing fourth in the 1-meter event, with a 264.23, and fifth on 3-meter with a 282, a score which qualifies for NCAA Zones.
Up next the Eagles will travel to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invite, scheduled for Nov. 20-22.
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.
