FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming and diving team will open the 2019 year welcoming three opponents as Liberty, Bowling Green and Buffalo are set to compete Saturday morning at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The duals are slated for a 10 am start.

"We are going up against three teams who are very well coached and who are competing at a very high level," said head coach Dave Rollins. "Liberty and Buffalo are probably the best they have ever been, while Bowling Green is responding well to their new coach.  For us, it is great to get the team back together and compete again.  However, the important thing is to make sure everyone is getting healthy and approaching the next seven weeks as we head into the CCSA Championships with the right mindset and focus. We are dinged up. Nevertheless, we'll do our best to compete and win for FGCU. Time for us to step up as a team."

LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles moved to 2-0 in CCSA action in dominating fashion as they collected a 171-91 win over UNC Asheville on Dec. 17. FGCU garnered nine first-place individual finishes out of the 14 events. During the meet, junior Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) claimed first in the 100 free with a swim of 56.01 – her fastest 100 fly time of the season. She also contributed to FGCU's 200 free relay winning team with her leg time of 24.18 while collecting second in 100 (53.86) and 200 free (1:59.15). Her performance against the Bulldogs led her to be named the CCSA Swimmer of the Week Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Margot Kessler (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community HS)  joined Fry on the conference's weekly honor list as she took home the Diver of the Week award. Kessler had a career day on the boards, scoring 210.97 on the 1-meter spring en route to a second-place finish – the highest she's ever placed on the 1-meter.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
Liberty is off to a scorching start at 8-0 overall with a 2-0 mark in CCSA action. Its two conference wins have come over Campbell and Gardner-Webb. A pair of freshmen in Lauren Chennault and Olivia Robinson is at the top of Liberty's diving team as they have both qualified for the 2019 NCAA Zones meet. Robinson has hit a qualifying score on all three boards this season.

The reigning CCSA Swimmer of the Year Alicia Finnigan leads the conference with a 200 fly time of 1:56.33. In four meets this season, Finnigan has claimed four victories in the 200 fly. Meanwhile, sophomore swimmer Mikayla Herich leads the conference in both 1000 (10:06.54) and 1650 free (16:50.16).

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bowling Green is more than a month removed from competition as they last competed on Dec. 2 at the Zippy Invitational hosted by Akron. Overall the Falcons are 7-0 with a 1-0 mark in MAC competition. Of those seven victories, two are highlighted by wins over Big 10 member Michigan State (179-121) and Big East member Xavier (133-129).

In their last dual meet nearly two months ago against Youngstown State, the Falcons claimed wins in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays. Daisy Platts contributed 18 points as she collected victories in the 200 free (1:54.23) and the 200 back (2:01.63). On the boards, Talisa Lemka scored 309 on the 1-meter and 372 on the 3-meter to capture first in both events.

SCOUTING THE BULLS
Buffalo comes into Fort Myers with a 1-0 record as most of their action has been competing in several meet invites. Just like its fellow MAC partner BGSU, the Bulls last competed at the Zippy Invitational which saw them place second overall behind Akron. On the final day of the three-day meet, UB left the invitational with a trio of individual victories while breaking four school records.

ORDER OF EVENTS
200 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
1m Diving
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
3m Diving
200 IM
400 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)
Cassidy Fry – Swimmer of the Week (Jan. 3)
Margot Kessler – Diver of the Week (Jan. 3)

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.