FGCU Swimming & Diving Information
Meet 7	FGCU (5-1, 4-0 CCSA) at Marshall (1-0, 0-0 C-USA), Toledo (1-2, 0-1 MAC)
Date // Time	Friday, Nov. 8 // 6 p.m.
Location	Toledo, Ohio // Toledo Student Recreation Center Pool
Watch	ESPN3
Meet 8	FGCU (5-1, 4-0 CCSA) at Oakland (5-1, 2-0 Horizon), Eastern Michigan (2-0, 2-0 MAC)
Date // Time	Saturday, Nov. 9 // 1 p.m.
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. // Jones Natatorium
Twitter	@FGCUEagles // @FGCU_WSwim
Instagram	FGCU Swim and Dive

FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a two-meet home swing, the FGCU swimming & diving team (5-1, 4-0 CCSA) will hit the road for a pair of meets in Ohio and Michigan. On Friday, Nov. 8, the Eagles will face off against Marshall (1-0, 0-0 C-USA) and host Toledo (1-2, 0-1 MAC) in a 6 p.m. meet. The following day, the team will take on Oakland (5-1, 2-0 Horizon) and host Eastern Michigan (2-0, 2-0 MAC) at 1 p.m. at the Midwest Eagles' Jones Natatorium (Nov. 9). Friday's competition will be broadcasted on ESPN3, a first for FGCU this season.

The Green and Blue
For the second-consecutive week, FGCU swept the weekly CCSA honors as junior Petra Halmai was named Swimmer of the Week and freshman Reese Wakefield was tabbed as the Diver of the Week. The honor is the third for Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) this season, who has yet to finish lower than second place in a collegiate meet. Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Komel Secondari Grammar School) has paced the Eagle swimmers through the start of the year, throwing down nationally-ranked times in the 200 Breast (2:11.36, fifth), the 100 Breast (1:01.18, 14th), and the 400 IM (4:17.22, 17th).

In its most recent competition, FGCU fell to Houston by a score of 204-142 at the Nest (Nov. 1-2). Over the course of the two-day meet, the Eagles were led by Halmai, Wakefield and sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie) who each garnered first-place finishes for the home team.

Though the Eagles are just over a month into the season, FGCU has already begun to show up in the national polls. CollegeSwimming.com has the Green and Blue ranked fifth among mid-major programs and 40th overall.  

The Herd
Marshall enters Friday's competition with just one dual meet under its belt: a 216.5-81.5 victory over Youngstown State (Oct. 5). The team has since competed in the West Virginia Games (Nov. 1-2), where the team earned a second-place finish.

Head coach Ian Welsh brought in seven freshmen to mix with the 14 returners from last year's squad that posted a 1-6 record in dual meets and earned a fourth-place finish at the 2019 C-USA Championship.

The Rockets
Friday's meet will be the second for Toledo at its home pool this season. The Rockets are 0-1 at the Toledo Student Recreation Center Pool, as the team fell 174-126 at the hands of Oakland (Oct. 18) in its home opener. The team has since posted a split 1-1 record, picking up a win at Youngstown State (Oct. 19) before dropping a result to Akron (Oct. 25).

Last season, the Rockets finished seventh at the MAC Championships. Sophomore Joelle Gallais was the only athlete to represent the team in the postseason, as she competed in the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet. She finished in 19th place in the 10M platform event, just one place shy of qualifying for finals.

The Golden Grizzlies
Like FGCU, Oakland has also received attention in the national rankings. CollegeSwimming.com has the Golden Grizzlies ranked 12th among all mid-majors, seven spots behind the Green and Blue. The team has dropped just one dual meet this season, falling 206-93 at the hands of Northwestern last weekend (Nov. 1).

The Golden Grizzlies have dominated the Horizon League since entering for the 2013-14 season. Since its inaugural year in the conference, Oakland has won six-straight championships. Last year, the Golden Grizzlies posted a decisive, 156-point margin over runner-up IUPUI.

Oakland capped off the 2018-19 season with an appearance at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship, where the team earned a ninth-place finish.

The EMU Eagles
Eastern Michigan has yet to drop a dual meet this season, as the team has earned wins over Miami Ohio (Oct. 26) and Ball State (Nov. 2). The Miami Ohio Redhawks, who the EMU Eagles defeated 152-148, are ranked third among all mid-majors and 33rd in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com.

Last season, Eastern Michigan posted a 6-0 record at home in the Jones Natatorium. In their home pool, the Eagles outscored opponents by a combined 307 points, good for an average of a 51-point margin of victory per meet.

Former Eagle Delaney Duncan represented Eastern Michigan at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas and picked up a second-place finish in the 100 Breast. The All-American also placed 19th in the 200 Breast.

The team was also represented by a quartet of divers at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. All four of the Eagles earned top-40 finishes at the meet, but missed qualifying for the finals. Three of the divers returned to this year's squad.

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
Head coach Dave Rollins is only the second coach in program history. He was hired Sept. 1, 2016 and owns a 30-14 (.681) dual meet record, which includes an 11-1 (.916) mark against CCSA opponents, in his fourth season. Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles (2017, 2018), as well as the program's fourth-straight title in 2018, marking the ninth championship in 10 years. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in two of his 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 helping to develop 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.

#FEEDFGCU
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 raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 79 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--