FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming and diving team (6-7, 2-1 CCSA) were narrowly defeated as Miami (4-3, 0-0 ACC) claimed a 126-116 victory Saturday evening at the FGCU Aquatics Complex.
Before the meet, the Eagles honored their 10 seniors,
Antonia Baerens, Hannah Burdge, Kiley Eble, Doris Eichhorn, Christina Kaas Elmgreen, Margot Kessler, Lindsay Manganiello, Nicole Oppel, Gracie Redding, and Linda Shaw.
"We had phenomenal energy from the very beginning," said head coach
Dave Rollins. "To get started by honoring all of our seniors was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Then having to deal with a delay but having our 200-yard medley relay team start with an in-season best time was really awesome. The girls raced really well all day as well as the divers with their performances. At the end of the day, we just ran out of events to close the gap a little bit."
As they've been doing all season, the Eagles came out strong in the opening relay race, claiming first in the 200-yard medley.
Eichhorn (Berlin, Germany/HTW Berlin),
Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School),
Redding (Orlando, Fla./The First Academy/FSU) and
Rebecca Moynihan (Palmerston North, New Zealand/Waiopehu College) clocked in a time of 1:43.68 to take the early lead. Swimming in her signature 1000 free,
Shaw's (Leeds, United Kingdom/Roundhay HS) performance of 10:26.52 helped her claim second. Meanwhile,
Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Martin County HS) placed third in the 200-yard free (1:53.53) as Redding produced FGCU's first top overall finish in the 50-yard free (23.42).
Meanwhile, on the 3-meter spring, the Eagles placed second, third and fourth, respectively, with
Megan Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Centennial CVI) missing out on first place by 12 points with a score of 279.02. Over the next two events, FGCU placed either first or second as
Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) took first in the 100-yard fly (56.01) and Moynihan
with the top spot in the 100-yard free (51.21).
Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) (100-yard fly, 56.11), Burdge (100-yard free, 51.72) and Eichhorn (100-yard back, 57.36) all collected second-place finishes to keep FGCU within distance.
Shaw came away in first place in the 500-yard free (5:05.69) as Halmai (1:03.99) and
Emily Glinecke (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove High School/ASU) (1:06.05) took second and third, respectively, to set FGCU for a close finish. In the final event of the evening, the 200-yard free relay, the team of Redding, Moynihan,
Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland./Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie), and Burdge combined for a time of 1:34.81. Despite the first-place outing, it would not be enough as UM edged the Eagles 126-116.
UP NEXT
FGCU will travel to Miami for a dual meet against FIU (1-1) on Jan. 26 at noon.
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
In his third season, head coach, Dave Rollins is only the second head coach in program history, taking over on Sept. 1, 2016. Rollins has 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 native of Brockton, Mass., he was a standout collegiate swimmer in his own right, and 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.
