FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the final time this season, FGCU swimming & diving will compete in its home pool at the FGCU Aquatics Complex on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Eagles (8-7-1, 4-1 CCSA) are set to host FIU for a blue out dual beginning at Noon.
Prior to the start of competition, head coach
Dave Rollins and his staff will recognize the six members of the class of 2020:
Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio),
Emily Glinecke (Pottstown, Pa.),
Madison Jean (Parrish, Fla.),
Natalie Keffer (San Gabriel, Calif.),
Elizabeth White (Fort Myers, Fla.), and
Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, R.I.).
On Tuesday afternoon, the CCSA announced that FGCU swept the league's weekly awards for the third time this season. Junior
Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary) collected her fourth Swimmer of the Week honor and freshman
Delaney Nelson (Cincinnati, Ohio) was tabbed Diver of the Week for the first time in her career.
Halmai led the Eagles during last weekend's in-state circuit that featured meets against FAU (Jan. 17) and Miami (Jan. 18). She earned three individual wins and helped boost a pair of relay teams to second-place finishes. After a battle against the conditions in the meet against the Owls, Nelson bounced back and paced the Eagles during the dual with the Hurricanes, placing third on both the 3m and 1m board.
This weekend, the Eagles will look to even up their record against opponents from the Sunshine State. The Green and Blue defeated conference foe UNF by a decisive score of 185-76 at the beginning of the season, but fell on the road at FAU (151-92) and Miami (160-82).
The Panthers (5-3, 0-0 C-USA) will bring their three-meet winning streak to Fort Myers, after picking up victories against Nova Southeastern, Illinois and Miami. FIU has not lost since falling to Rice and the University of Denver during Dual-A-Pool-Ooza on Oct. 19. Back in December, the Panthers were represented at the U.S. Open Championships in Atlanta as senior Taylor Grabenhorst and freshman Emily Cordovi competed. Grabenhorst earned an Olympic trial cut in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:10.08), while Cordovi posted a time of 1:03.24 in the 100-meter Fly.
FGCU holds an 11-2 all-time advantage over FIU, which includes a 6-0 mark at the Nest. The Eagles have won three of the last five meetings between the teams and will look to bounce back after dropping last year's dual 198-102 in Miami.
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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 32-19-1 (.627) 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.
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#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.
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