FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Swimming & Diving team (0-0) won its first competition of the 2020-21 season, as it took home the FGCU Invitational with a final score of 1,420. Second-place FIU (0-0) earned 994 team points and third-place Georgia Southern turned in a score of 712. In addition to being the Eagles' first event of the season, the FGCU Invitational was the first of its name to be held at the FGCU Aquatics Center.

"We are so happy to start off the season with a win for FGCU," head coach Dave Rollins said. "These student-athletes and our department sacrifice so much to make these events happen and we know it can all be gone at the drop of a hat. To be fortunate enough to do what we love, where we love to do it is a true blessing. The team is excited with their results from this weekend, but knows that the main goal is to bring a CCSA Championship back to the Green & Blue. We have some work to do and are ready to get back to it."

Sophomore Michaela Sizemore (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford Senior HS) kicked off the night with a win in the mile and recorded her own collegiate-best time of 16:57.83. The Eagles ended up collecting 51 points in the opening event, as sophomores Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/ECU) and Hannah VanDress (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot) finished third and fourth.

FGCU's second individual win of the night came from junior Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum 10 NR W Lublinie), who touched the wall first in the 100 Free (49.54). She was followed closely by second-place Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior High), as the sophomore recorded a final time of 50.75. In addition to the top-scoring duo, the team was represented by four other Eagles in the 'A' Final. Junior Meghan Schienvar (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel HS) finished fourth, junior Joely Merriman (Shawnee, Kan./Arizona State) took fifth, sophomore Kaja Reinhardt (Herdecke, Germany/Helene-Lange-Gymnasium Dortmund) finished sixth and freshman Zuzanna Rabiniak (Radom, Poland/X Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Mistrzostwa Sportowego W Lublinie) came in eighth overall.

Senior Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) completed her sweep of the meet's breaststroke events when she took home the 200-yard race. Her final time of 2:09.02 stands as an NCAA 'B' cut. Halmai was joined in the 'A' Final by freshman Rebecca Winn (Warwick, United Kingdom/The Kingsley School), freshman Karen Arngeirsdottir (Reykjanesbaer, Iceland/Fjolbrautaskoli Sudurnesja), sophomore Anna Hogan (Louisville, Ky./Dupont Manual School) and freshman Emily Merton (Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee HS). The quartet, in order, locked up fourth through seventh place.

Halmai's performance in the following event, the 200 Fly, earned her back-to-back wins. The senior captain was followed closely by second-place Rodriguez. The 'A' Final also featured sixth-place junior Alexis Durlacher (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida State), seventh-place Sizemore and eighth-place Niepelova.  

The Green & Blue finished the weekend on a high note when the quartet of Czarnecka, Rabiniak, Jerew and Schienvar captured the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:21.35. With the win, the Eagles completed a perfect weekend in the relay events.
 
The team will now break for the end of the fall semester and will not compete again until Jan. 13, when the Eagles are set to host Miami at the FGCU Aquatics Center. The competition is slated for a 4 p.m. start. Details, such as attendance and streaming, will be released as they are finalized.

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--