BOCA RATON, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team will face a pair of Top-15 teams this weekend as it opens the 2018 campaign in the Burrow Beach Bash at FAU.

The Eagles, in the fifth season under the direction of head coach Matt Botsford, had the best season in program history in 2017 with a program record 15 wins and an ASUN runner-up finish. The Eagles have went from two wins in his first season to 15 last year, with each year representing an increased win total (2-4-11-15).

This weekend, the Eagles will open up on Friday with matches against Houston Baptist and Webber International at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. On Saturday, the Green and Blue will face two ranked teams in No. 11 Georgia State and No. 15 FAU at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

"We have had a great week of preparation and are excited to officially get started," Botsford said. "We have a really experienced and talented core, so this preseason seemed a lot cleaner a lot earlier. The move from indoor to beach for our transitional players was much more seamless as well. Our newcomers have really made an impact in our training sessions, and I expect them all to play a major role throughout the season. The focus now is to build the chemistry between partners and learn how they can best complement one another. There are certain elements to that dynamic that won't show until we are in actual matches so I look forward to seeing how that plays out this weekend."

OPPONENT CAPSULES
GEORGIA STATE: The Panthers (7-3) swept a pair of matches on Tuesday against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State without losing a set. Fourteen players, including all five of the team's freshmen and three graduate transfers, recorded wins that day. Two of Georgia State's losses have been to No. 8 South Carolina while the other loss came to No. 5 Florida State.

FAU: The No. 15 Owls (4-4) enter the Burrow Beach Bash having won three of its past four matches in the UNF Beach Invitational last weekend, including a 4-1 win over No. 6 LSU. The duo of Mackenzie Morris and Erica Brok went 4-0 on the weekend and made the all-tournament team. Gabrielle Dischler and Jessalyn Kinlaw went 2-0 on the final day. FAU also defeated ASUN member North Florida and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi while falling to No. 8 South Carolina.

HOUSTON BAPTIST: The Huskies (4-2) started the season with a loss to No. 20 TCU, but have since won four of five including victories over ULM, UAB, Jacksonville State and Austin Peay, the latter two of which came via a sweep. The team last played in the New Orleans Invitational on March 2-3 where they won three of four with the lone loss coming to the host school, New Orleans.

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL: The Warriors (3-4) took part in Eckerd College's Battle on the Bay March 2 where they competed in four matches over one day. The victories came against Morehead State and Florida Southern, while the losses came to the University of Tampa and Eckerd College.

LOOKING AHEAD
Overall, six ranked teams on this year's schedule will comprise 50 percent of the non-conference schedule. They include No. 3 Hawaii, No. 8 South Carolina, No. 11 Georgia State, No. 13 FIU, No. 15 FAU and No. 20 TCU. The Eagles will also see No. 16 Stetson in ASUN play.

"I'm really excited about this year's schedule as it will provide us a challenging non-conference slate that will prepare us well for ASUN play," Botsford said. "That kind of experience and competition is not only valuable, but necessary as we continue our efforts in taking this program to an even higher level. We have a very talented group returning and have added some great young players who I think will contribute right from the start."

Following this weekend, the Eagles will travel to St. Petersburg to face Eckerd College on March 14. They will then host their first home match on March 16 at 4 p.m. against the University of Tampa at Estero Community Park.

NEW PLAYERS
With the loss of three seniors, Caroline Jordan, Leigh Pudwill and Madi Wilcox, head coach Matt Botsford added Kayla Whetstone, a decorated high school player from Arlington Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas. She was a member of the 692 Beach National Team and was named to the High Performance A2 Team, an Olympic training program in Chula Vista. 

In addition to Whetstone, three indoor freshmen will transition to beach, as well, including Snowy Burnam, Cortney VanLiew and Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers, HS). Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) were both named to the ASUN's All-Freshmen team this past fall while Burnam was named the ASUN's top freshman.

PRESEASON HONORS
Amanda Carroll, Karissa Rhoades, Katherine Puisis and Mackenzie Allen were all named to the Preseason ASUN All-Conference team.

Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) and Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) teamed up last year and went 12-11, including 11 victories as the No. 1 pair. Carroll, a junior this spring, teamed with a combination of Allen and Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) as a freshman. With Allen, she compiled seven victories in 2016, while taking down North Florida, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina, UAB and the College of Charleston in the No. 2 pair spot. They also won a pair of matches in the ASUN Championship and compiled five straight victories at one point.

Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) and Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS), meanwhile, were members of the ASUN's All-Conference team last year. They finished the season with a team-best 15-8 record out of the No. 3 position. They were the only FGCU pair to pick up a win over FAU, and they posted wins against Mercer and North Florida in the ASUN Championship.

NOTES
Coach Botsford recently signed four student-athletes for the 2018-19 recruiting class. The story can be found here.

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 entering his fifth season at the helm of the FGCU beach volleyball program in 2018. In his tenure, the team has compiled a 32-46 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 43-61. 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.