FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's swimming and diving team (9-2, 3-0 CCSA) won six of nine events on the first day of competition Friday against in-state rival Florida State to give the Eagles a 98-69 edge heading into the meets second day on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Emma Svensson picked up a crucial individual victory along with two significant contributions in relay wins – including a pool record – to help lead the way for the Green and Blue.

"Today was a really exciting day," said head coach Neal Studd. "The girls are halfway through this meet and doing well. We have to keep the girls calm tonight and get them well rested so that we can continue to do well tomorrow. I wish it was a one-day meet with how well we did today. Hopefully we can carry the momentum into the morning."

As usual it was the 200 yard medley relay kicking things off, and it was the Eagles' team of Kira Toussaint (Amstelveen, Netherlands/Keizer Karel College), Evita Leter (Paramaribo, Suriname/Doral Academy), Svensson (Uppsala, Sweden/Celsiusskolan) and Becky Derogatis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Indian River/Cardinal Gibbons HS) who would come away with the victory with a time of 1:41.46 to set a pool record at the FGCU Aquatics Center.

Lani Cabrera (Barbados/St. Ursala's Secondary School) picked up her individual win in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 4:58.74. Cabrera's win in the 500 free was an exhilarating come-from-behind victory that saw her narrowly win by four tenths of a second against Josie Cuda from FSU.  Katie Armitage (Bushey, United Kingdom/Queens School) followed suit with a victory of her own when she won the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17.44.  Karen Vilorio (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Elvel School) and Leter were the other two swimmers to pick up individual wins for the Eagles in the 200 yard backstroke and the 200 yard breaststroke, with times of 2:03.52 and 2:23.69 respectively.

Svensson won the 50 yard freestyle and qualified for an NCAA "B" Cut when she finished with a time of 22.83. Svensson followed this win with a clutch performance in the 400 yard freestyle relay when she anchored the team consisting of Armitage, Cabrera and Toussaint to beat the Florida State team by one tenth of second with a time of 3:24.36.

Senior Cayla Collins (Largo, Fla./Osceola High School) led the charge on the 3-meter dive board with a second place finish and a score of 290.32. Makalia Buening (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community HS) finished a close third when she dove for a score of 280.35.

SENIOR DAY
The Green and Blue will say goodbye to ten seniors as they swim for their final time at the FGCU Aquatics Complex on Saturday morning. The group will be recognized prior to the start of competition at approximately 9:45 a.m. This unit has been responsible for leading the team to two CCSA titles and are in search of a third in the last four years.

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.