FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the second consecutive weekend, the FGCU swimming and diving team hosts a meet at the FGCU Aquatics Center as No. 17 N.C. State, CCSA-foe Liberty and Central Connecticut State are scheduled to compete against the Green and Blue on Saturday at 10 a.m.

"We have some great opponents coming to town this weekend," said FGCU head coach Neal Studd. "We'll have our hands full with N.C. State, for sure, but we're 7-0 and not looking to let that go. We're looking forward to racing tough."

After a 10-day holiday break, the Eagles returned to the pool on Sunday, Jan. 3 and defeated Rice, 134-71. FGCU won nine of 11 events during the dual meet and improved its record to 7-0 on the season. First-place finishers from last weekend's win include:

200 Medley Relay: 1:45.01 (Haan/Armitage/Wong/Julien)
1000 Free: 10:13.23 (Lani Cabrera)
50 Free: 23.84 (Katie Latham)
100 Fly: 56.28 (Yee Ching Wong)
100 Back: 56.24 (Elise Haan)
500 Free: 5:02.31 (Melissa Marinheiro)
100 Breast: 1:03.24 (Katie Armitage)
200 Free Relay: 1:36.57 (Cabrera/Hamilton/Caraballo/Latham)

Additionally, FGCU enjoyed a successful fall season as they got off to a 6-0 start in dual-meet competition and finished inside the top-four at three invitational meets including the All Florida Invite, FGCU Classic and Georgia Tech Invite. Four of the Green and Blue's six dual-meet wins came against nationally-ranked opponents in No. 37 Notre Dame (158-104), then-No. 35 Boise State (159-140), then-No. 44 Utah (165-135) and then-No. 31 FSU (220.5-132.5). After placing third at the Georgia Tech Invite and clocking five school-record times from Nov. 19-21, the team achieved its highest ranking in program history as CollegeSwimming.com tabbed the Eagles No. 19 in the country.

SCOUTING N.C. STATE
ACC-foe and No. 17 N.C. State comes to the FGCU Aquatics Center as one of the highest-ranked opponents in program history. The Wolfpack are off to a 3-1 start in dual meets this season and have notched wins versus then-No. 8 Southern California, then-No. 25 FSU and Hawaii. Prior to their lone loss of the season against No. 6 Texas, N.C. State was ranked as high as No. 7 by the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America. Against a common opponent in FSU, the Wolfpack won by a margin of 200-99 while FGCU defeated the Seminoles 220.5-132.5. Most recently, N.C. State finished fourth at the Nike Cup behind a trio of nationally-ranked teams in UNC, Duke and Yale. They will compete in a tri meet against FIU and Kansas on Friday afternoon in Miami before traveling to Fort Myers.

SCOUTING LIBERTY
Conference opponent Liberty makes its way to Southwest Florida with a 5-3 dual-meet record and 3-0 record against CCSA competition this season. The Flames have notched a pair of wins versus Incarnate Word to go along with one win apiece vs. Campbell, TCU and North Texas. Most recently, Liberty finished fifth at the Rutgers Invite behind Navy, Rutgers, Northeastern and James Madison. The Green and Blue hold a 4-0 dual-meet record all-time against the Flames, which includes a 217-77-point victory on Jan. 3, 2015 at the FGCU Aquatics Center. Liberty has finished runner-up to FGCU in three of the last four CCSA Championships and, in 2014, edged the Eagles 732.5-718.5 to become the first program other than FGCU to win the championship since 2009.

SOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
Central Connecticut State travels to Fort Myers for the second-straight season and the second time in program history after falling to FGCU by a final score of 240-60 in the same quad meet with Liberty last January. The Blue Devils currently hold a 2-2 dual-meet record this season with wins against LIU Post and Bryant. Like Liberty, CCSU traveled to Piscataway, N.J., for the Rutgers Invitational from Nov. 20-22 and left the three-day event with a seventh-place finish.

SCHEDULE OF COMPETITION (FGCU SEASON BESTS)
200 Medley Relay: 1:38.90 (Haan/Armitage/Wong/Latham)
1000 Free: 9:59.27 (Lani Cabrera)
200 Free: 1:47.25 (Elise Haan)
100 Back: 52.32 (Elise Haan)
100 Breast: 1:01.49 (Katie Armitage)
200 Fly: 1:59.60 (Christina Kaas Elmgreen)
50 Free: 22.32 (Katie Latham)
100 IM: 57.47 (Barbara Caraballo)
1m Diving: 272.33 (Ashley Wright)
100 Free: 49.82 (Elise Haan)
200 Back: 1:56.43 (Elise Haan)
200 Breast: 2:15.17 (Katie Armitage)
500 Free: 4:47.43 (Lani Cabrera)
100 Fly: 54.65 (Yee Ching Wong)
3m Diving: 276.75 (Ashley Wright)
200 IM: 2:00.53 (Barbara Caraballo)
400 Free Relay: 3:20.10 (Hamilton/Caraballo/Latham/Haan)

UP NEXT
Following Saturday's quad meet, the Eagles will hit the road for the first time this spring as they travel to Coral Gables, Fla., to compete against in-state rival Miami on Friday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. The Eagles are 5-1 all-time against the Hurricanes, including a 195-104 win a season ago, and finished ahead of Miami at the All Florida Invite earlier this season.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-date 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.
                                                                       
HEAD COACH NEAL STUDD
Neal Studd has garnered five CCSA Coach of the Year awards, won six CCSA Championships (2009-13, 2015) and guided the Eagles to a 31-1 (.969) CCSA all-time record since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just four years of postseason eligibility, Studd has coached NCAA Championship Meet qualifiers and competitors each of the four years, with 2015 yielding the best results to date as the Eagles finished a mid-major best 26th and produced four CSCAA All-America honorees.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
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.