KNOXVILLE, TN – After four days of competition, the FGCU swimming & diving team (8-8-1, 4-1 CCSA) completed the 2020 CCSA Championship with 1,403 team points, good for a second-place finish among the nine-team field. Over the course of the championship meet, the Eagles earned five gold medals, seven silver medals and a pair of bronze medals. Thanks to their 1,566 points, the Liberty Flames took home the conference title on Saturday night at the Jones Aquatic Center.

At the conclusion of the meet, both freshman Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario/Bishop MacDonelle CHS) and diving coach David Boyko picked up a pair of the championship's four superlative awards. After winning the 3m board as a rookie and placing second in the 1m event, Wakefield was named Diver of the Year and Boyko was selected as Diving Coach of the Year.

"I'm so excited and happy for these young women," head coach Dave Rollins said. "They competed tough every single session and definitely put the conference on notice that we might be young, but we battle. Congratulations to Reese on Diver of the Year and David on Diving Coach of the Year. Petra's breaststroke was truly a special moment. Not only did she set the conference record, but she will also have an opportunity to represent FGCU at the NCAA Championship. Thank you to all of our seniors for all their hard work and commitment to our program. We have an amazing group of swimmers and divers, it's going to be a fun next few years."

The final day of competition was highlighted by junior Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School), who had an outstanding meet overall.

After picking up the win in the 100 Breast on Friday night, she added a dominating win in the 200 Breast on Saturday. Halmai touched the wall with a blazing time of 2:07.38, shattering the previous conference record (2:11.51) and taking home the event by over eight full seconds. With her time, she also secured a spot at the 2020 NCAA Championship, as she currently ranks eighth in the nation in the event.

Sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum NR 10 W Lublinie) also represented the team on the podium on Saturday, earning a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.

In addition to Halmai and Czarnecka, multiple other Eagles tallied points on the final day of competition.

Freshmen Michaela Sizemore (Fredericksburg, VA/Stafford Senior HS) and Hannah VanDress (Cape Coral, FL/Bishop Verot), as well as senior Elizabeth White (Fort Myers, FL/Riverdale HS) combined for 54 points in the mile, as they placed fourth, seventh and 20th, respectively. Sizemore's final time of 16:58.75 ranks seventh all-time in the FGCU record book.

The Eagles were also well-represented in the 200 Back event, where four different members of the team scored points. Freshman Julia Rodriguez (Gainesville, FL/Buccholz HS) led the group, placing fifth overall with a time of 2:01.59. Sophomore teammate Joely Merriman (Shawnee Mission, KS/Arizona State), who had also secured a spot in the A Final earlier in the day, finished seventh. Senior Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, RI/Homeschool) and freshman Claire McAtee (Louisville, KY/Sacred Heart Academy) topped the B Final, finishing ninth and tenth.

Freshman Hailey Jerew (Miami, FL/Cutler Bay Senior HS) touched the wall about a second and a half behind Czarnecka to take seventh overall in the 100-yard freestyle. Her classmate Kaja Reinhardt (Herdecke, Germany/Helene-Lange-Gymnasium Dortmund), sophomore Meghan Schienvar (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel HS) and fellow rookie Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija I Ekonomska Skola Benedikta Kotruljevica) also scored, as the Eagles picked up a total of 84 points in that event.

While Halmai highlighted the 200 Breast, both freshman Anna Hogan (Louisville, KY/DuPont Manual HS) and White had also earned spots in the A Final. Hogan's time of 2:21.57 earned her a fifth-place finish, while White touched the wall seventh. Senior Emily Glinecke (Pottstown, PA/Arizona State) also added 20 points by finishing ninth overall.

Senior Cassidy Fry (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood HS) and Rodriguez scored for FGCU in the final individual event of the day, the 200 Fly. Fry swam a 2:05.81, good for 12th place, while Rodriguez' 2:09.27 earned her 16th.

In the final event of the meet, the team of Czarnecka, Merriman, Jerew and Reinhardt earned a silver medal in the 400-yard freestyle relay, touching the wall in 3:24.27. Those 56 points helped the Eagles clear the 1,400-point mark and secure their second-place finish as a team.

Certain members of the team will now prepare for postseason events, including the likes of the UF Last Chance Meet (Feb. 28 – March 1). NCAA Zones for diving will take place from March 9-11, while the NCAA Championship is set for March 18-21.

Final Standings
1. Liberty – 1,566 points
2. FGCU – 1,403 points
3. UIW – 1,037 points
4. UNC Asheville – 782 points
5. UNF – 698
6. Campbell – 690
7. Gardner-Webb – 657
8. Georgia Southern – 526
9. Howard - 299

1650 Free
Michaela Sizemore – 16:58.75 – 4th place
Hannah VanDress – 17:08.33 – 7th place
Elizabeth White – 18:09.61 – 20th place

200 Back
Julia Rodriguez – 2:01.59 – 5th place
Joely Merriman – 2:02.64 – 7th place
Elizabeth Zeiger – 2:00.96 – 9th place
Claire McAtee – 2:01.32 – 10th place

100 Free
Wiktoria Czarnecka – 49.73 – 3rd place
Hailey Jerew – 51.30 – 7th place
Kaja Reinhardt – 51.60 – 11th place
Meghan Schienvar – 51.90 – 15th place
Lucija Sulenta – 52.03 – 19th place

200 Breast
Petra Halmai – 2:07.38 – 1st place (CCSA Record)
Anna Hogan – 2:21.57 – 5th place
Elizabeth White – 2:22.76 – 7th place
Emily Glinecke – 2:23.24 – 9th place

200 Fly
Cassidy Fry – 2:05.81 – 12th place
Julia Rodriguez – 2:09.27 – 16th place

400 Free Relay
FGCU – 3:24.47 – 2nd place

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.

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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 81 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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