FORT MYERS, FL – Competing on the east and west coast of Florida all in one afternoon, the FGCU swimming and diving team (1-2, 1-0 CCSA) captured the TYR Classic in Miami hosted by FIU (0-1) while the remaining members of the Green and Blue split a dual meet at the FGCU Aquatics Complex Saturday afternoon between the Panthers and UNF (1-3, 1-1 CCSA).

"We were presented the opportunity to compete against some new teams and the ladies performed well," said head coach Dave Rollins on the team's two-day performance at the TYR Classic. "The core of our team is our relays and being able to win all four was huge for us and helped set the tone for the weekend. Every swimmer was a part of a win, either on a relay or in their heat. Our divers competed well against a tough field, which is how you win a competition like this. I'm excited to see the progress from last week and looking forward to getting the team back together as we move forward through the season."

After collecting 244.5 points on day one, the Eagles nearly matched that total scoring 234 points on day two to take home the TYR Classic. Right from the start, the Eagles claimed a crucial 40 points in the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay. The team of Doris Eichhorn (Berlin, Germany/HTW Berlin), Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School), Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS), and Gracie Redding (Orlando, Fla./The First Academy/FSU) combined for a swim of 1:45.29 to take first place.

Halmai highlighted the 200 breaststroke for the Eagles touching the pads in 2:19.28 for a second-place finish, scoring FGCU 17 points. Continuing to extend FGCU's lead was Redding, claiming third in the 100 free, touching out in 52.46 seconds to add on 16 points. Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) kept the Eagles rolling with a second-place finish in the 100 fly (17 points) as Halmai placed fourth in the 200 IM to rack up 16 points.

Just how they started, the Eagles ended on a strong note capturing the 400 free relay title. The quartet of Hannah Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Martin County HS), Redding, Fry and Linda Shaw (Leeds, United Kingdom/Roundhay HS) produced a time of 3:29.96, nearly two seconds ahead of the hosts.

Divers Megan Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Centennial CVI) and Melissa Novak (Frederick, Md./Oakdale HS) battled through a tough field, garnering a top-four finish in their heats on the boards. In the 3-meter A final, Wakefield placed second, finishing over TCU's Izzy Ashdown with a score of 234.80 as Novak finished fourth on the 1-meter dive with a mark of 235.95

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 
FGCU – 478.5
FIU – 454.5
TCU – 390
George Washington – 387.5
Grand Canyon – 384.5
Army – 369
FAU – 327
Old Dominion – 310

FGCU VS FIU/UNF

FGCU 78, UNF 53
FIU 99, UNF 32
FIU 73, FGCU 58

"Congratulations to our ladies for battling all day and coming away with a conference win!" said Rollins. "Not only do we celebrate our newest Eagle's first meet win, but we had a number of them in Kellie Fischer, Emily Glinecke, Wiktoria Czarnecka, and Karin Schienvar win their first collegiate races as Green and Blue members. We definitely could've competed better in a couple of places to help us get the win against FIU, however, to win both relays and have some stand-out swims from Madison Jean and Kellie was great to see. I'm proud of our team for competing and protecting the Nest."

The 200 relay team of Fischer (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial High School), Glinecke (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove High School/ASU), Jean (Parrish, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) and Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland./Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie)  kicked off the meet coming in first overall with a swim of 1:47.27. In the third event of the afternoon, the 100 IM, the Eagles placed 2-3-4 as Karin Schienvar (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel HS), Jean and Glinecke etched times of 1:01.07, 1:01.45 and 1:01.61, respectively.

Meanwhile, newcomer Fischer narrowly missed out on first place in the 50 back as she touched the pads in 27.72 – six-tenths of a second shy behind UNF's Jacqueline Barklund. Jean claimed her first win of the afternoon in the 100 fly as she clocked in a time of 57.33 seconds for first place as Nicole Oppel (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley HS) was right behind her in second with a time of 59.45 seconds.

FGCU continued to place swimmers in the top-3 of their events, with freshman Joslyn Filo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area High School)  (3rd in the 100 free), Fischer (1st in the 100 back) and Glinecke (2nd in the 100 breaststroke) all coming up big for the Green and Blue. After Antonia Baerens (Ottobrunn, Germany/Max-Josef-Stift Gymnasium/Nevada) capped off her 200 IM swim in fourth, the 200 free relay team took home the last event of the day. Czarnecka, Jean, Fischer and K. Schienvar teamed up to produce a swim of 1:37.37 for the victory en route to the first conference win of the season over UNF.

UP NEXT
FGCU will head to Atlanta, GA., on Friday, Oct. 19 to take on a pair of ACC foes in Georgia Tech (1-1), Miami (1-1), followed by the 2018 NAIA National Champions in Savannah College of Art & Design (0-1) (SCAD).  

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
Entering into his third season, head coach, Dave Rollins is only the second head coach in program history, taking over on Sept. 1, 2016. In his second season, Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles, as well as the program's fourth-straight and ninth championship in 10 years. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in each of his two seasons at the helm. Previously, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at The Ohio State University. Rollins brings over a decade of coaching experience to The Nest, which includes Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans along with multiple conference champions. A standout collegiate athlete in his own right, Rollins was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame in 2017 as a nine-time NCAA All-American, national champion, school record holder and team captain.

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.