JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coming off of a second-place finish at the FGCU Classic, the No. 18 FGCU swimming & diving program will head to Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend to take on the UNF Ospreys. The CCSA conference opponents are scheduled to compete on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
 
"We're excited to go to Jacksonville this weekend for our first conference meet of the season," said FGCU head coach Neal Studd. "They have some good talent at UNF so we need to be ready to race. I'm looking for our girls to step up and turn in some good swims."
 
Last season, the Green and Blue defeated the Ospreys 157-92, winning eleven total events. Seniors Sara Hamilton (Stonehaven, Scotland/Mackie Academy) and Lani Cabrera (Barbados/St. Ursala's Secondary School) both picked up individual victories in the 50 freestyle (25.05) and 200 freestyle (1:54.08), respectively. Additionally, Samantha Rahael (Trinidad & Tobago/The Bolles School) and Yee Ching Wong (Hong Kong, China/Diocesan Girls' School) paired with alumni Maggie Holling and Nina Schiffer to lead the 200 medley relay to a victory.
 
On Saturday, the Eagles will travel with a team of 20 swimmers hoping to remain undefeated against UNF at the first dual meet of the 2015-16 season for FGCU. Through two meets on the year, the Green and Blue finished fourth at the All-Florida Invite and second at the FGCU Classic, finishing behind nationally-ranked Ohio State.
 
ALL-TIME VS. UNF
2014-15 – W, 157-92
2013-14 – W, 143-94
2012-13 – W, 195-100
2011-12 – W, 132-102
2010-11 – W, 95.5-45.5
                  W, 97-51
2009-10 – W, 181.5-116.5
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (FGCU SEASON BESTS)
200 Medley Relay (Caraballo, Armitage, Wong, Latham – 1:41.84)
1000 Freestyle (Lani Cabrera – 10:24.28)
100 IM (Barbara Caraballo – 57.94)
200 Freestyle (Linda Shaw – 1:51.98)
100 Backstroke (Katie Latham – 56.63)
100 Breaststroke (Katie Armitage – 1:02.37)
200 Butterfly (Yee Ching Wong – 2:02.48)
50 Freestyle (Katie Latham – 23.03)
100 Freestyle (Katie Latham – 50.76)
200 Backstroke (Sandra Wilk – 2:05.18)
200 Breaststroke (Katie Armitage – 2:19.04)
500 Freestyle (Lani Cabrera – 4:58.19)
100 Butterfly (Yee Ching Wong – 55.98)
200 IM (Katie Armitage – 2:03.40)
400 Freestyle Relay (Burdge, Caraballo, Latham, Armitage – 3:24.29)
 
WE'RE NUMBER ONE
For the second consecutive week, the Green and Blue appeared in CollegeSwimming.com's weekly rankings as the No. 1 Mid-Major program in the country. They registered at No. 18 overall with 699.82 points and came in ahead of Southern California (695.41), South Carolina (688.46) and Miami (686.10), among others.
 
"Being ranked as the top Mid-Major program in the country is quite a thrill," Studd said. "We finished last year that way at NCAAs and hope to continue it all the way through this year."
 
A year ago, the Eagles earned a program-record 37.5 points and finished 26th overall at the NCAA Championships, which was also good for the top spot among Mid-Major schools.
 
CONFERENCE HONOR QUEENS
The Eagles have earned three CCSA weekly honors this season after sweeping the first wave of CCSA weekly honors on Sept. 30. Katie Armitage (Bushey, United Kingdom/Queens School Bushey) took home Swimmer of the Week honors while Ashley Wright (Port Saint Lucie, Fla./Indian River/Lincoln Park Academy) was named the Diver of the Week following their success at the season-opening All Florida Invite. Following the FGCU Classic, Barbara Caraballo (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Indian River/Newsome HS) earned Swimmer of the Week distinction after contributing to three relay victories.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue will return to the FGCU Aquatics Center as they host Notre Dame in a dual meet on Friday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m., marking the first ever meeting between the two programs.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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.
 
HEAD COACH NEAL STUDD
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 28-1 (.966) 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.
 
#FEEDFGCU
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.