COLUMBIA, S.C. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (5-4) split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Gamecock Challenge at Wheeler Beach on the campus of the University of South Carolina on Saturday.

The Green and Blue opened the day with a 3-2 win over TCU, a team that is in the receiving votes section of the latest AVCA national poll, and concluded the day with a 5-0 loss to No. 8 South Carolina.

"I liked the way we competed today in both matches," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Being down 2-0 to South Carolina after the 4's and 5's makes for a tough road, but I thought we handled it well. Ashley and Gio, along with Amanda and Mac, responded well with two highly competitive matches.

"Against TCU, we got some great play across the board. I thought defensively we did a great job disrupting a very physical group."

In the opener against TCU, the two, three and four pairs each won in straight sets, while all five matches went just two sets. Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Kayla Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) took down Claire Doyle and Hannah Rogers 21-17, 21-16 in the No. 4 pairing to get the Eagles in the win column. Giovanna Borgiotti and Ashley Glickert followed with a 21-18, 21-17 win over Jensyn Bledsoe and Molly Scheel in the third pairing. 

Following that, TCU evened things up with a win in the No. 1 pairing, but Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) and Katherine Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) defeated Jillian Bergeson and Jaelyn Greene 23-21, 21-15 to pick up the match clinching victory.

In the second match, the Eagles were swept, but the No. 1 pair of Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) and Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS), along with the third pair of Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS), won their opening sets and pushed their matches to three sets. 

Next up for FGCU is UNC Wilmington and No. 3 Hawaii at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively, on Sunday.

NOTES
OPPONENT HISTORY: FGCU is now 1-2 all-time against South Carolina with the lone win coming in 2016 in Sarasota, Fla. Saturday's meeting was the first non-neutral site matchup between the two teams.

LOOKING AHEAD: Following this weekend, FGCU will travel to Macon, Ga. to open ASUN play on March 30-31 against Coastal Carolina and Mercer. The team then closes its regular season road slate at Stetson on April 4 before hosting five matches at Estero Community Park to conclude the regular season.

FGCU 3, TCU 2
1. Cassie House/Haven Hill (TCU) d. Mackenzie Allen/Amanda Carroll (FGCU) 21-7, 21-18
2. Karissa Rhoades/Katherine Puisis (FGCU) d. Jillian Bergeson/Jaelyn Greene (TCU) 23-21, 21-15
3. Giovanna Borgiotti/Ashley Glickert (FGCU) d. Jensyn Bledsoe/Molly Scheel (TCU) 21-18, 21-17
4. Snowy Burnam/Kayla Whetstone (FGCU) d. Claire Doyle/Hannah Rogers (TCU) 21-17, 21-16
5. Brooke Sassin/Jordan Westendorff (TCU) d. Alayna Ryan/Kaitlan Krivdo (FGCU) 21-11, 21-18

SOUTH CAROLINA 5, FGCU 0
1. Shannon Williams/Ali Denney (SC) d. Amanda Carroll/Mackenzie Allen (FGCU) 12-21, 21-18, 15-12
2. Katie Smith/Cadie Bates (SC) d. Karissa Rhoades/Katherine Puisis (FGCU) 21-14, 21-12
3. Carly Schnieder/Julia Mannisto (SC) d. Giovanna Borgiotti/Ashley Glickert (FGCU) 19-21, 21-18, 15-11
4. Leah Perri/Macie Tendrich (SC) d. Snowy Burnam/Kayla Whetstone (FGCU) 21-10, 21-16
5. Franky Harrison/Jess Vastine (SC) d. Alayna Ryan/Kaitlan Krivdo  (FGCU) 21-15, 21-16

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.

COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford, who is also the head coach of the FGCU indoor volleyball program, is in his fifth season at the helm of the FGCU beach volleyball program in 2018. In his tenure, the team has compiled a 37-50 record, and he's improved the team's win total each season. In fact, he led the program to 11 wins in 2016 and 15 in 2017 - both of which were new records for most wins in a season. The beach volleyball program is entering just its seventh year at FGCU and has an overall record of 44-61. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. A former professional volleyball player, he is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University (now Trine), where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.

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.