FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a month-long break, the FGCU swimming and diving team (4-5, 2-0 CCSA) took care of business at home as the Eagles downed CCSA foe UNC Asheville (3-4, 2-2 CCSA) 171-91 Monday afternoon at the FGCU Aquatics Center.
"It was great to get out and race again," said head coach
Dave Rollins. After coming off some challenging training and final exams, the athletes tend to feel off, which is normal. However, getting back into racing is important for us in our preparations for the CCSA Championships. Congratulations to
Megan Wakefield on qualifying for Zones on the 1m and we happily welcomed
Courtney Chapin back to racing after a semester of setbacks."
Of the 14 events that took place Monday afternoon, the Eagles garnered nine first-place finishes. The dual started with the Green and Blue's A relay team taking the 200 medley as the team of
Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School
),
Emily Glinecke (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove High School/ASU),
Madison Jean (Parrish, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) and
Doris Eichhorn (Berlin, Germany/HTW Berlin) combined for a swim of 1:47.97. Swimming for the first time ever in the 1650 free,
Gracie Redding (Orlando, Fla./The First Academy/FSU) claimed second (17:59.36) as the dual would be tied at 18 points apiece. From there, FGCU would begin to pull away.
On the 1m board, the Eagles captured the top-4 spots as
Megan Wakefield's (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Centennial CVI) Zones qualifying mark of 272.77 led the way. In her return,
Courtney Chapin (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS)
claimed first in the 50 back with a swim of 27.09 as Eichhorn and Jean rounded out the top-3. Glinecke and Halmai secured second and third, respectively, in the 50 breast while
Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) (100 fly, 56.01) and
Hannah Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Martin County HS) (50 free, 24.19) took first in their respective events.
Senior swimmer
Linda Shaw (Leeds, United Kingdom/Roundhay HS) placed first in 100 free with a time of 53.53 as Fry was right behind her for second overall (53.86). Down the stretch, Halmai would garner two first-place individual finishes. Her first would come in 100 back (59.24) and then four events later, the Hungary native touched out in 59.73 to take the 100 IM.
FGCU ended the meet in strong fashion as the A relay team of Burdge, Redding, Fry and Eichhorn produced a time of 1:36.48 for first overall. The Eagles' B and C relay teams went on to claim the third and fourth spots.
"The team did a great job supporting each other and racing tough," stated coach Rollins. "Definitely lots of positives heading into next semester!"
UP NEXT
FGCU is off until Jan. 5, where they will host Buffalo, Bowling Green, and CCSA opponent Liberty. The meet is slated for a 10 am start.
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.
