LYNCHBURG, VA – The FGCU swimming and diving team surged into second place and now sit with 648 points at the conclusion of day two of the CCSA Championships being at the Liberty Natatorium.

"We had a great night!" head coach Dave Rollins said. "We started with the incredible news that our 800 free relay disqualification was overturned and that really brought momentum our way. Congrats to the 200 free relay team on the win and Megan for winning her second board, this time in a school record. We are racing tough and the energy has been incredible. They support each other so well."

With a seed time of 1:31.12, the Eagles came out and captured the first finals event of the evening, the 200 free relay. Gracie Redding (Orlando, FL/The First Academy), Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie), Hannah Burdge (Stuart, FL./Martin County HS) and Rebecca Moynihan (Palmerston North, New Zealand/Waiopehu College)  combined to produce a swim of 1:30.02, etching a new season-best mark to give the Eagles a vital 70 points. Czarnecka and Moynihan registered lifetime best splits in the process.

On top of the 200 free relay win, FGCU learned that its second place 800 free relay time (7:20.78*) was reinstated, giving the Eagles another critical 62 points. The 800-free relay team consisted of Linda Shaw (Leeds, United Kingdom/Roundhay HS), Antonia Baerens (Ottobrunn, Germany/Nevada), Hannah Burdge (Stuart, FL/Martin County HS) and Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, RI/Homeschool).

A day after taking the 1-meter dive crown, sophomore Megan Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Centennial CVI) repeated as champion, this time in the 3-meter dive. In her six dives, the Ontario native accumulated a total of 336.5 points – shattering her season-best mark of 293.65 – en route to a new school record.

Transitioning into the 500 free A Final, Shaw placed third with a time of 4:52.35* to score 30 points as Baerens registered 26 points with a swim of 4:58.78.
In the 200 IM C Final, Emily Glinecke (Pottstown, PA./ASU) captured first with a time of 2:07.01*. The Eagles made up more ground in the A Final as Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) (2:01.75), Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) (2:01.86*) and Doris Eichhorn (Berlin, Germany/HTW Berlin) (2:02.96*) finished 2-3-4, respectively.  

The 50 free was the final event of the night and it started with Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) taking third in a C Final with a mark of 24:11*. In the A Final, Redding hit an NCAA 'B' cut time as she touched out in 22.65 for the first-place title along with 35 points. Freshman Czarnecka finished right behind her with a time of 23.05*, collecting 30.5 points. Moynihan (23.13) and Burdge (23.55) rounded out the scoring finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

"We, all the teams, are all in the same boat when it comes to the delays and timing malfunctions so we have to ignore those distractions and focus on our races," added Rollins. "We've had 21 season-best times and 16 lifetime best performances so far with two days still to go. There are a lot of races left and we have a huge day tomorrow."

Day three of the CCSA Championships will continue tomorrow with prelims beginning at 10 am with the final events commencing at 6 pm (100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 400-medley relay).

*Denotes season-best time

 Standings
1. Liberty-790.5
2. FGCU-648
3. Incarnate Word-485
4. Georgia Southern-484
5. UNC Asheville-313
6. Campbell-298.5
7. Gardner-Webb-265
8. UNF-240
9. Howard-203

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.