FORT MYERS, Fla. – The second day of the FGCU Invitational saw the FGCU Swimming & Diving team (0-0) maintain its advantage over both FIU (0-0) and Georgia Southern (0-1). The Eagles completed Friday's competition with 982 team points, while the Golden Panthers and the visiting Eagles turned in 742 and 518 apiece.

Friday's action was additionally highlighted by senior Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School), who broke her own program record in the 100 Breast with a time of 59.89 (previous record – 1:00.01). Her effort, which was recorded during the morning's prelims, currently ranks as the second-fastest collegiate swim in the nation.

"We continue to be impressed with the student-athletes' commitment to improvement," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Each session is an opportunity to gain valuable racing experience. To see best times, school records and zone-qualifying dives is just icing on the cake. We know these competitive opportunities can easily not be here tomorrow, so to see their commitment to their performances is inspiring. We are looking forward to finishing strong tomorrow and hopefully bringing home a win for FGCU."

For the second-consecutive night, the Eagles opened up the finals with a win, taking home the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Alicja Ulicka (Rybno, Poland/Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace IM Wislawy Szymborskiej), Halmai, junior Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum NR 10 W Lublinie) and sophomore Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior High) touched the wall in 1:40.72, a little over .20 seconds ahead of second-place FIU. FGCU's 'B' relay team of sophomore Claire McAtee (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy), freshman Karen Arngeirsdottir (Reykjanesbaer, Iceland/Fjolbrautaskoli Sudurnesja), sophomore Julia Rodriguez (Gainesville, Fla./Buccholz HS) and junior Meghan Schienvar (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel HS) finished third (1:43.82).

Czarnecka picked up the team's first individual win of Friday's competition, as she won the 100 Fly with a final time of 53.87. The junior captain and Rodriguez, who finished third, combined for 36 points.  

A few events later, FGCU boosted its lead with a sweep in the 200-yard freestyle. Freshman Zuzanna Rabiniak (Radon, Poland/X Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Misrzostwa Sportowego W Lublinie) swam a 1:50.99 to win it and was followed by sophomore Kaja Reinhardt (Herdecke, Germany/Helene-Lange-Gymnasium Dortmund) and junior Joely Merriman (Shawnee, Kan./Arizona State).

Halmai built on the winning momentum in the 100 Breast, where she picked up her second individual win of the invitational. FGCU collected 85 points from the 'A' Final, as Halmai was joined by Arngeirsdottir, Jerew, sophomore Anna Hogan (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual School), freshman Emily Merton (Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee HS) and freshman Rebecca Winn (Warwick, United Kingdom/The Kingsley School).

On the boards, FGCU racked up a combined 39 points from its three 'A' finalists: sophomore Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS), who finished fourth, sophomore Delaney Nelson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursulina Academy), who finished sixth, and sophomore Alyssa Schmidt (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS), who finished eighth. Each of the aforementioned divers recorded NCAA Zone-qualifying scores.

The final event of the night saw the hosting team earn first- and third-place finishes in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Halmai, Schienvar, Rabiniak and Reinhardt won the event with a time of 7:31.57, while the team of sophomore Michaela Sizemore (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford Senior HS), junior Alexis Durlacher (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida State), junior Ashley Kaminski (Virginia Beach, Va./Landstown HS) and freshman Sophia Macaisa's (Inverness, Fla./Lecanto HS) time of 7:42.73 was good for third.

Coming into the finals session, the Eagles had earned over 20 individual 'A' Final spots. In addition to the aforementioned swims, other notable performances include sophomore Sara Niepelova's (Piestany, Slovakia/ECU) third-place effort in the 400-yard IM and Ulicka's fourth-place finish in the 100 Back. Both led the Green & Blue in their respective races.

The team will return to the FGCU Aquatics Center tomorrow for the third and final day of the FGCU Invitational. Saturday's competition will kick off with a 10 a.m. prelim session, followed by a 1 p.m. diving prelim. The final session of the meet will begin at 5 p.m. and will be streamed on Facebook Live.

For complete coverage of FGCU swimming & diving, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCU_WSwim), Instagram (@FGCU_WSwimDive) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU swimming & diving or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting 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 FLIGHT 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--