FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the second-to-last time this season, the FGCU swimming & diving team is preparing to host a dual meet at the FGCU Aquatics Complex as the team is set to take on Stony Brook this Saturday, Jan. 11. The Eagles and the SeaWolves will face off in an 11 a.m. white out meet that will be preceded by a Faculty/Staff Appreciation Ceremony.
After Saturday's competition, the only home meet that remains on the 2020 slate is a dual against FIU on Saturday, Jan. 25. That meet, which is scheduled for a Noon start time, will also serve as senior day. Head coach
Dave Rollins and his staff will honor the six members of this year's graduating class.
FGCU (7-5-1, 4-1 CCSA) enters this weekend's competition after earning a split 1-1-1 result in last Saturday's competition against Illinois State, Tulane and conference rival Liberty. The team defeated Illinois State, tied Tulane and fell to Liberty. Sophomore
Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum nr 10 w Lublinie) was the only swimmer to earn an individual win against all three opposing teams, claiming the 50 Free by 0.31 seconds.
Earlier this week, freshman diver
Reese Wakefield became the first rookie in conference history to receive five weekly diving awards. She broke a decade-long record previously held by UNF's Julia Moomaw, who collected CCSA Diver of the Week honors four times throughout her freshman year.
Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) won both the 3m and 1m boards during last weekend's competition, picking up her sixth and seventh titles of the season (four on the 3m, three on the 1m).
Stony Brook (4-4, 0-1 America East) heads to Fort Myers in search of its first road win of the 2020 season. The SeaWolves are 0-2 in road duals, having fallen at both La Salle (170-129) and Fordham (182-111). Michal Liberman has had one of the team's strongest individual seasons, as the graduate student has earned conference weekly honors three times so far and recently broke the program's 100 Fly record (54.89). Last year, Stony Brook finished 6th at the America East Conference Championships.
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 31-17-1 (.645) 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--
