Teams: FGCU (0-0), Quinnipiac (0-0), Hartford (0-0)
Coaches: Karl Smesko: (15th season @ FGCU – 378-73; 439-100 overall) | Tricia Fabbri (22nd season @ Quinnipiac – 350-269; same overall) | Kim McNeill (1st season at Hartford; same overall)
Game 1: FGCU at Quinnipiac: Friday, Nov. 11 | 2 PM | TD Bank Sports Center
Links: LIVE STATS | WATCH
Game 2: FGCU at Hartford: Sunday, Nov. 13 | 2 PM | Chase Arena
Links: LIVE STATS | WATCH
 
HAMDEN, Conn. – After a record setting 2015-16 season, the FGCU women's basketball returns to the court this weekend to begin a new year.  The Eagles, who are ranked seventh in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Preseason Top 25, open up their season on the road against 11th-ranked Quinnipiac on Friday, Nov. 11. Two days later, the Green and Blue will head 45 minutes north to square off against Hartford on Sunday, Nov. 13. Tipoff for both games is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
 FGCU will enter 2016-17 as winners of six-straight Atlantic Sun regular-season championships after compiling its fourth perfect regular season in five years in 2015-16. Led by the 2016 espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year Smesko, last year's team finished its historic season with a flawless ASUN record of 14-0. The club won a program-record five games in the WNIT – including at home over Michigan in the semifinals in front of a standing-room-only program record 4,633 fans – before falling just short in the championship game at South Dakota.
 
The Eagles lost eight seniors to graduation from last years team, but return one of the nation's best shooters in Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School). In addition to Gradinjan and four others who saw playing time during 2015-16, transfer China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) becomes eligible for the start of next season and is expected to make an immediate impact for the Green and Blue, who recently completed an eight-player incoming class.
 
Among the newcomers are two highly touted JUCO graduates in Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) and Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC). Julien helped Chipola to a top-10 national ranking, a 24-5 record, and the NJCAA Division I National title last season. The 5'11 forward ranked 10th in the nation among junior college prospects and second among players in her position. Nelson led Johnson County to a 31-1 record and a NJCAA Division II National Championship in 2015-16. Nelson ranked 44th nationally according to the Dan Olsen Report.
 
SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC
Quinnipiac is coming off a 25-9 season wherein the Bobcats went 17-3 in MAAC regular season play to earn their second consecutive MAAC regular season title. A third-straight trip to the MAAC Championship game ended in a loss to Iona, but the Bobcats still managed a memorable appearance in the WNIT. Quinnipiac defeated Maine, 90-44, at home to record their first national postseason tournament win in program history as well as the largest single-game scoring margin in the program's Division I history (since 1998-99). However, the Bobcats playoff run ended shortly after with a 64-62 loss to Temple in the second round.
 
Quinnipiac returns eight of nine players from last year's team who averaged at least 15 minutes played per game. The returners include last year's captains; redshirt senior Adily Martucci and junior Carly Fabbri. Martucci posted career highs across the board as a redshirt junior last season, averaging 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 23.3 minutes per game. She led the Bobcat backcourt in shooting percentage (36.3) in 2015-16 and posted one of her best games of the season going for 18 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 3FG) in the WNIT First Round one win over Maine. Fabbri had a breakout season in 2015-16, catapulting into the role of starting point guard after the graduation of Gillian Abshire. As a sophomore she averaged 6.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.
 
The Eagles and the Bobcats will square off for the third time in series history. FGCU has come out on top in both of the teams' previous meetings.
 
SCOUTING HARTFORD
Coming off an 11-19 year, the Hawks enter season with new leadership at the helm. Kim McNeill takes over for Jennifer Rizzotti to become the eighth head coach in program history. McNeill comes to Hartford by way of Virginia, where she grew into the role of Associate Head Coach under veteran head coach Joanna Boyle.
 
The Hawks return their leading scorers from last season, junior Darby Lee and senior Deanna Mayza. As a sophomore, Lee was named to the America East All-Conference Third Team after enjoying a breakout season that featured career-best numbers in scoring (8.9 ppg), rebounding (3.0 rpg), assists (23) and steals (21). Mayza served as a captain last season and was named Third Team All-Conference despite missing over a third of the season with a shoulder injury. Prior to the injury, she led the team in scoring (11.7 ppg), minutes (33.3 mpg) and assists (4.0 apg).
 
FGCU downed Hartford 64-44 in the first meeting between the two teams last season.
 
The Hawks face Boston College on Friday, Nov. 11th at Chase Arena before squaring off with FGCU on Sunday, Nov. 13th.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will return to Fort Myers for their home opener against FIU on Tuesday, Nov. 15th. FGCU holds a 7-0 record over the Panthers all-time and has come out on top in seven of its last eight home openers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award with a successful 2015-16 campaign and was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year. Under his direction, the team has compiled two-straight 30-win seasons with four perfect ASUN regular-season slates in the last five years. The team earned its first top-25 ranking and a third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed last season where FGCU won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 30 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 378-73 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.8 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time ASUN Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win last season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 439-100 (81.5 W%).  Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.

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.