Meet Results
FORT MYERS, Fla. – After finishing first in every event in the meet, the FGCU swimming and diving team defeated Toledo 182-60 on Thursday at the FGCU Aquatics Center.
The Eagles saw seven different swimmers finish in first place, with multiple top finishes from
Linda Shaw (Leeds, United Kingdom/Roundhay HS),
Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School), and
Yee Ching Wong (Hong Kong, China/Diocesan Girls' School). FGCU swept the podium in the 200 yard freestyle and the 100 yard butterfly. With the win, FGCU improves to an overall 4-2 record to finish the calendar year.
"We had a great day today," FGCU head coach
Dave Rollins said. "We continue to compete at a high level and race smart. The team was supportive, relaxed and had a lot of fun. It was great to end our semester with a win for FGCU."
The morning started off with the 200 yard medley relay as the quartet of Halmai,
Sommer Harris (Richmond, V.a./St. Catherine's School), Cassidy Fry (Oakwood Ohio/Oakwood HS), and
Hannah Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Martin County HS) got the Eagles on the board finishing in first (1:45.19), while the third place team of
Kiley Eble (Cleveland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy),
Elizabeth White (Fort Myers, Fla./Riverdale HS), Wong, and
Madeleine Clarke (Treasure Island, Fla./Northside HS) finished in 1:46.33.
Shaw won both of her events, the 1000 and 500 freestyle, contributing 18 points alone. She finished the 1000 in 10:34.28, and would then win the 500 in a time of 5:03.44.
The sweep of the 200 yard freestyle saw Wong in first with a season-best time of 1:52.07.
Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) touched the pads in 1:54.96, while
Antonia Baerens (Ottobrunn, Germany/Max-Josef-Stif) took the third place spot (1:55.38). Burdge won her first individual event of the day in the 50 yard freestyle in a quick 24.17. Clarke finished shortly after to take third (24.53).
Reigning CCSA Swimmer of the Week
, Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, R.I./Homeschool) set an FGCU season-best time in the 400 yard individual medley by more than three seconds (4:23.74). Halmai finished four seconds behind the sophomore, to give her a second place time of 4:27.50. The Eagles headed into the diving break with a 69-24 lead.
Wong won her second individual event of the day in the 100 yard butterfly in 55.78 making it the 20th out of 31 points that she contributed to the overall score. Elmgreen (56.05) and
Madison Jean (Parrish, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) (57.22) rounded out the second sweep of the meet by Eagle swimmers in dominating fashion.
Gracie Redding (Orlando, Fla./The First Academy), an unstoppable force all season, won the 100 yard freestyle in 52.16. Earlier, she joined Shaw on the leaderboard for the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:42.86.
In the last few individual events, Halmai won both the 100 yard breaststroke (1:05.12) and the 100 backstroke (58.28). The freshman garnered an overall 33 points on the day, which marks the most points she has contributed in a dual-meet alone.
The 400 yard freestyle relay saw the team of Wong, Redding,
Rebecca Moynihan (Palmerston North, New Zealand/Waiopehu College), and Burdge win in 3:29.00, which was over three seconds faster than Toledo's quartet. FGCU won the meet 182-60, the largest point deficit in a dual-meet this season at 122.
In terms of diving,
Melissa Novak (Frederick, Md./Oakdale HS) topped her season-best in the 3-meter with a score of 274.125. Novak was just a little over three points shy of the zone qualifying score of 280.
Stevie Meyerson (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern HS) finished with a score of 207.75, while
Natalie Keffer (San Gabriel, Calif./Gabrielino HS) finished 188.62. In the 1-meter, the rookie Novak claimed the top spot, contributing 18 points to the overall total with a final score of 245.25.
The Eagles are back after the New Year as they host the FGCU Triple Distance Classic at the FGCU Aquatics Center. The Green and Blue will host Gustavus, St. Louis, Rutgers, and CCSA foe Liberty for a 5 p.m. start time.
SCORING
Each team may only score two teams in a relay. 1st place – 11 points, 2nd – 4 points, 3rd - 2 points. Each team may only score three people per individual event. 1st place – 9 points, 2nd – 4 points, 3rd – 3 points, 4th – 2 points, 5th – 1 point.
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 DAVE ROLLINS
In his first year with the program in 2016-17, head coach Dave Rollins led FGCU to its eighth CCSA Championship in a span of nine years and guided the Eagles 200 free relay team to All-American honors. FGCU registered points at the NCAA Championships for the fourth-straight season and ultimately turned in its third-best finish all-time (T-41st). Prior to FGCU, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at Ohio State University and brought 10 years of coaching experience at the club, high school and collegiate levels. A standout collegiate athlete in his own right, Rollins was a nine-time NCAA All-American and national champion as a member of the University of Arizona swimming & diving team from 2002-06.
TOYS FOR TOTS
The FGCU Athletics Department, FGCU Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office and Heroes Unlimited have teamed up to participate in a holiday toy drive. New, unwrapped toys are being collected and will be delivered to the Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida on Friday, Dec. 23. Collection boxes have been placed in the lobbies of Alico Arena, UPD and the FGCU Family Resource Center until Wednesday, Dec. 20. No toy is too small, and all toys will be wrapped prior to delivery.
#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.
