FORT MYERS, Fla. – After nearly a month removed from competition, the FGCU swimming and diving team (3-5, 1-0 CCSA) is set to host CCSA foe UNC Asheville (3-3, 1-2 CCSA) for a dual meet Monday afternoon at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The meet is slated for a noon start.
"We are very excited to welcome UNC Asheville this week," said head coach
Dave Rollins. "It's a special rivalry as coach [Elizabeth] Lykins was our first-ever assistant coach. She's done an incredible job building the Bulldog program, and to have divers for the first time is exciting from a conference point of view. We're swimming some shorter events which allow us to change our lineup a bit. Plus, with Christina [Elmgreen] and Tori [Czarnecka] at their National Championships and Rebecca [Moynihan] at the World Championships, it's a great opportunity for us to have our team step up in new ways. It'll be great to race again after about a month off from competition."
LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles participated in the Georgia Tech Invite last month which lasted three days. In total, the Green and Blue squared off against 10 opponents, – four of which were nationally ranked in Florida, Auburn, FSU and UNC – as the squad collected 119 points to finish ninth out of 10. During the three-day stretch, the Eagles registered numerous personal and lifetime best marks which included five new 'B' cut times and 10 new all-time top-10 times.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
UNC Asheville was last in action at the Fall Frenzy Invite back on Nov. 16. In that invite, the Bulldogs placed third out of 14 teams. Morgan Rulevich broke the program's 100 free record as she was the leadoff leg in the 400 free relay where she clocked in a mark of 51.12 seconds. She would go on to medal on day two placing second in the 100 breast and also on day three, coming in third in the 200 breast.
The Bulldogs' three victories have come against UNF (141-121), VMI (216-63), and Gardner-Webb (115.5-89.5).
Monday's meeting will mark the first time both teams have met since the 2016 season in which FGCU came out on top, 154-51 at home.
ORDER OF EVENTS
200 MR
1650 Free
1m Diving
50 Back
50 Breast
100 Fly
50 Free
100 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Free
50 Fly
100 IM
200 Free Relay
CCSA WEEKLY HONORS
Melissa Novak – Diver of the Week (Oct. 2)
Gracie Redding – Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 9)
Megan Wakefield – Diver of the Week (Oct. 9)
Christina Kaas Elmgreen – Swimmer of the Week (Nov. 20)
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.
