FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming & diving team earned over a 100-point margin of victory in its dual against Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The Eagles (8-5-1, 4-1 CCSA) defeated the SeaWolves by a score of 178-65 through 13 events.

Senior Cassidy Fry and freshman Julia Rodriguez were the highest-scoring individual swimmers of the day, combining for 31 total points. Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) earned first-place finishes in both the 100- and 50-yard freestyle events, while Rodriguez (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS) touched the wall first in the 500 Free and placed second in the 200 IM.

The Eagles were also boosted by another strong performance by freshman diver Reese Wakefield, who swept the 1m and 3m boards for the second-straight week. Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) outscored opponents by almost a combined total of 50 points through both events.

"It was a great day," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Some of the athletes got another shot at the events they competed in a week ago, but most of them had the chance to swim something completely different. When it comes to swimming different events, you never know what to expect, but they did a great job. The support is always there and they're always cheering each other on. It's great that we have the strength to be flexible in our lineup. For instance, Julia (Rodriguez) swam the 500 Free, which is not necessarily in her wheel house, but for she came out and won the event which was really neat."

Including Fry and Rodriguez, seven different Eagles earned first-place finishes in the meet against Stony Brook (4-5, 0-1 America East). Both senior Elizabeth White and freshman Claire McAtee tallied 12 points apiece, as they each contributed first and third-place finishes. White (Fort Myers, Fla./Riverdale HS) won the 100 Breast and finished third in the mile, while McAtee (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) claimed the 100 Back and finished third in the 50 Free.

Freshman Hannah VanDress, sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka and junior Petra Halmai added top finishes for the Green and Blue, as well. VanDress (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) finished first in the mile, Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie) won the 100 Fly and Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Komel Secondari Grammar School) was triumphant in the 200 Free.

In addition to individual success, the Eagles picked up a pair of wins in both relay events. The team of freshman Lucija Sulenta, Halmai, Rodriguez and freshman Kaja Reinhardt won the 400-yard medley relay by over six seconds to open up the meet. The group of sophomore Joely Merriman (Herdecke, Germany/Helene-Lange-Gymnasium Dortmund), Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija I ekonomska skola Benedikta Kotruljevica), Czarnecka and Halmai finished the day with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Of today's 13 events, the Eagles finished first in all but the 200 IM, where Stony Brook's Reagan McDonald edged Rodriguez by just 0.01 seconds.

The meet against the SeaWolves marked the second-to-last time that the Green and Blue will compete at the FGCU Aquatics Complex this season. The team's last home meet will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25 and will feature a matchup against the FIU Panthers. Prior to the competition, Rollins and his staff will honor the six members of this year's graduating class.

Before the meet against the Panthers, the Eagles are set to hit the road for back-to-back clashes with FAU (Jan. 17) and Miami (Jan. 18). Competition against the Owls is slated for a 5 p.m. start time at the FAU Aquatic Center. The following day, FGCU will face off against the Hurricanes at Noon at the Norman Whitten Pool.

For complete coverage of FGCU swimming & diving, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCU_WSwim), Instagram (@FGCU_WSwimDive) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com.

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 32-17-1 (.755) dual meet record, which includes an 11-2 (.846) 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 80 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--