FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Swimming & Diving team (0-0) is set to kick off its 2020-21 campaign at the FGCU Invitational, at which it will play host to both CCSA foe Georgia Southern (0-1) and FIU (0-0) this Thursday, Nov. 19. The competition, which will run through Saturday, Nov. 21, is the first that FGCU's Department of Athletics has held against outside competition since the spring seasons were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each day will consist of three sessions: a prelim at 10 a.m., a diving prelim at 1 p.m. and finals at 5 p.m. While the event is closed to the public, each day's finals will be streamed on the team's Facebook page.
"We are very excited to represent the Green & Blue this weekend and feel very fortunate that we are in a position to host this meet," head coach
Dave Rollins said. "It's the first event on campus in nine months and the energy is riding very high. We are excited to face both of these teams for different reasons. FIU got the best of us last year, so we know what a strong team they have but we are excited for the challenge. Georgia Southern recruited very well and will be a much improved program from last season. It's going to be a great meet and the team cannot wait to get going."
The Eagles, who finished last season with an 8-8-1 mark in dual meets and a 4-1-0 record against conference opponents, return a majority of last year's team which placed second at the 2020 CCSA Championship. Senior
Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) is also coming off of one of the program's most successful individual seasons in its 14-year history, as she was named a CSCAA First Team All-American after posting the nation's 10
th-fastest time in the 200 Breast.
In addition to Halmai, who was named the CCSA Swimmer of the Year, the Eagles have also returned the other three individual champions from last year's conference meet. Sophomore
Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop MacDonelle CHS), who took the league by storm in her first collegiate season, captured the 3m title and was named CCSA Diver of the Year. Junior
Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum NR 10 W Lublinie) and sophomore
Julia Rodriguez (Gainesville, Fla./Buccholz HS) round out the gold-medalist group, having taken home the 50 Free and the 100 Fly, respectively.
This year's squad is also highlighted by the addition of 10 freshmen, as well as sophomore transfer
Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/East Carolina) and junior transfer
Alexis Durlacher (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida State).
Rollins, who is in his fifth season at the helm, is once again joined by both diving coach
David Boyko (ninth season) and assistant coach
Lara Jackson (second season). The two-time CCSA Coach of the Year has also added volunteer assistant coach
KT Kustritz to his staff, who was a five-time national champion at NCAA Division III powerhouse Denison.
Georgia Southern is the only team of the three that has already competed this season, having fallen to fellow CCSA member Campbell in a meet on Oct. 31. Though the Eagles won five individual events, they ultimately dropped a 159-103 decision. Freshman Annamaria Hornyak, who took home both the 100 Breast and the 200 IM, was named CCSA Swimmer of the Week for her efforts. FGCU is 6-0 all-time in regular-season meetings against Georgia Southern, which was boosted by last year's 172-70 victory in Statesboro.
The FGCU Invitational will also serve as the season-opener for FIU, though the team was originally scheduled to take on Miami beforehand (cancelled due to weather). The six-time defending Conference USA champions are led by returning CSCAA First Team All-Americans Maha Gouda and Mandy Song. While the all-time record between the two programs favors the Eagles 11-3, the Panthers did take home last year's meeting at the FGCU Aquatics Center. The Green & Blue will get two chances to avenge the loss, as they are slated to take on FIU again later this season (Jan. 23).
For complete coverage of FGCU swimming & diving, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCU_WSwim), Instagram (@FGCU_WSwimDive) and online atÂ
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www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
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 32-20-1 (.615) 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.
SUSTAINING FLIGHTÂ
To help offset the financial impact of COVID-19, FGCU Athletics has launched the Sustaining Flight Fundraiser and Auction. The fundraising campaign will help mitigate operational revenue loss and the additional expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19 protocols. All funds raised during the campaign will go to support areas that directly impact student-athletes.
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In lieu of hosting the annual Night at the Nest gala this year, one of FGCU's most successful fundraising events, the department will be hosting a virtual, online auction from Monday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 4. Fans and supporters will be able to bid on exclusive memorabilia, trip packages, unique event experiences and more. For more information, visit www.fgcuathletics.com/sustainingflight.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. 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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