FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU sand volleyball team and the Estero Community Park will play host to the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Sand Volleyball Championship Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18. Matches will begin at 9 a.m. both days with the Championship set for Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
FGCU enters as the No. 5 seed after a 3-9 season and will take on the No. 4 seed North Florida in the first round on Friday at 9 a.m. The tournament is a double elimination format with the winner of the 9 a.m. game scheduled to take on top-seeded Stetson at 1 p.m. Friday.
 
As reigning champions on the sand, Stetson holds the No. 1 seed for the tournament with Jacksonville and Mercer taking the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. 
 
The Eagles are led by the duo of Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) and Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein High School) who are 10-2 overall on the season and 7-2 in the No. 5 slot.  In the two matches against UNF this season, Mesner and Wilcox swept both games while playing in the No. 5 position.
 
In their two matchups this season, the Eagles fell to UNF 3-2 in Macon, Ga.
 
SCOUTING UNF
North Florida enters the conference tournament with a record of 9-10 and 4-4 in conference play.  The Ospreys are led by the senior duo of Cameron McGuire and Cari Whitmire.
 
The pair is 8-11 overall but started the season at 8-5 before losing their last six matches, which started with a loss to Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) and Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida).
 
The pair took home the conference honors for the A-Sun Sand Volleyball Pair of the Week on Mar. 18 after winning three times at the UNF Sand Volleyball Invitational.
 
North Florida fell in last year's A-Sun Championship match to Stetson but enters the 2015 championship as the No. 4 seed.
 
COMPLETE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The Hatters completed an undefeated A-Sun regular season with an 8-0 record and have won 16 of their last 18 matches entering the championship. They boast the 2015 A-Sun Pair of the Year in Julie Bassett and Kaley Melville, who ride an 18-game winning streak into this weekend, and the 2015 Coach of the Year in Kristina Hernandez.
 
No. 2 seed Jacksonville enters the championship with a 4-4 record alongside two other A-Sun squads in No. 3 Mercer and No. 4 North Florida. All three teams finished with a 4-4 record, but Jacksonville won the tiebreakers over both to secure the No. 2 seed. Sammie Strausbaugh and Kelly Koop enter the championship with momentum having won the Copper Division crown last weekend at the Fiesta on Siesta.
 
The host and No. 5 seed FGCU will get things started on Friday morning at 9 a.m. in the opening match against North Florida. During the regular season the teams played tightly contested matches with both coming down to the final pairing. UNF was successful 3-2 on both occasions, but the Eagles hope for a better outcome in the postseason.
 
FGCU Eagles
Twitter: @FGCU_SandVB
2015 Record: 3-9 (Overall) ; 0-8 (A-Sun)
Atlantic Sun Championships: none
Record in A-Sun Championship: 3-6; best finish was 3rd in 2012
Top Pair (2015 Record): Olivia Mesner / Madi Wilcox (9-2 Overall ; 7-1 A-Sun)
 
- FGCU enters the championship with three consecutive non-conference wins. The Eagles have defeated Webber International and Eckerd and by scores of 4-1 (twice) and 5-0. FGCU's top-pair of Olivia Mesner and Madi Wilcox won in straight sets in all three matches.  
- Marlene Moeller and Ashley Glickert also carry some momentum into the A-Sun Championship having won their last two matches. The pair is 2-5 while playing all seven matches in the No. 2 spot.  
 
Jacksonville Dolphins
Twitter: @JUVolleyball
2015 Record: 7-12; 4-4
Atlantic Sun Championships: none
Record in A-Sun Championship: 4-7 ; best finish was 3rd in 2013, 2014
Top Pair (2015 Record): Sammie Strausbaugh / Kelly Koop (12-4 ; 6-3)
 
- Dolphins enter the A-Sun Championship as the No. 2 seed after defeating cross-town rival UNF 4-1 in the final regular season match. Jacksonville's top pair of Sammie Strausbaugh and Kelly Koop picked up Pair of the Week honors after defeating UNF and winning their division at the Fiesta on Siesta.
- Emily Laskelle and Mayara Prestes teamed up at the No. 2 spot as they finished the regular season with a 4-4 conference record. Overall the duo won eight matches on the season, second most behind Strausbaugh and Koop on Jacksonville's team. 
 
Mercer Bears
Twitter: @MercerVball
2015 Record: 8-9; 4-4
Atlantic Sun Championships: none
Record in A-Sun Championship: 1-8 ; best finish was fourth in 2014
Top Pair (2015 Record): Emily Krogman / Erin Brett (12-5 ; 6-2)
 
- Mercer holds winning records at three courts entering this week's A-Sun Championship. At No. 2 and No. 3 the Bears boast 9-8 records, while Emily Krogman and Erin Brett put together a 12-5 record at No. 4, earning them All-Conference first team recognition.
- Zoe Becton and Emily Rochefort have played at No. 2 this season and are 6-4 in their last 10 matches. The duo was 5-3 in conference play, second best on the team to Krogman and Brett. Mercer enters this year's championship as the No. 3 seed, the highest seed for the team in program history. 
 
North Florida Ospreys
Twitter: @OspreyVB
2015 Record: 9-10; 4-4
Atlantic Sun Championships: Two (2012, 2013)
Record in A-Sun Championship: 9-1; winners in 2012, 2013
Top Pair (2015 Record): Cameron McGuire / Cari Whitmire (8-11 ; 2-6)
 
- North Florida's top-pair of McGuire and Whitmire have played together all season long. They are 3-1 in matches that go three sets. Both were recognized as members of the All-Conference first team earlier this week.
- Freshman Jess Kinlaw, a member of the 2015 All-Freshman team, has collected the most wins of any UNF player this season. She has six wins playing at No. 2 and five more wins playing at No. 3 this year. Most recently she has played at No. 3 with Julie Trembley and they duo has won two of their last three matches.  
 
Stetson Hatters
Twitter: @StetsonSVB
2015 Record: 18-3; 8-0
Atlantic Sun Championships: One (2014)
Record in A-Sun Championship: 9-5; winners in 2014
Top Pair (2015 Record): Julie Bassett / Kaley Melville (19-2 ; 8-0)
 
- Stetson features two pairs who have recorded 19 wins this season. They enter the A-Sun Championship with winning records on all five courts as they look to repeat last season's victory in Fort Myers this weekend.
- Stetson has played four nationally ranked teams this season, defeating No. 9 Florida International earlier this season. The Hatters moved up the rankings to No. 9 on March 25th and have remained steady in the rankings all season long. Kristin Lind was honored earlier this week as a member of the All-Conference first team and the 2015 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Complete results for the 2015 A-Sun Championship will be available via AtlanticSun.org and FGCUAthletics.com.
 
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
 
Head coach Matt concluded his first year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Botsford's team also had five players recognized as All-Conference winner to set a new program high. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUIPI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. Botsford is a former professional volleyball player and is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University, where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education.  He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.