ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (2-0) produced a pair of sweeps over UT Martin (4-3) and Jacksonville (0-1) on Friday as part of the first day of Eckerd College's Battle on the Bay to open the regular season.
"It was nice to get a couple of wins under our belts and start the season on a high note," FGCU head coach
Chris Sweat said. "We had stretches that looked really good, but each girl knows they need to execute at a higher level, and I'm excited to see them compete tomorrow."
The victories represented the first two of Sweat's career as a head coach, and the Eagles will close out the event with matchups against Florida Southern (3-1) and Tampa (5-3) at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
With two wins at the No. 1 pair on Friday,
Giovanna Borgiotti pushed her career victory total to 46, which ties her with Madi Wilcox (46-32, 2014-17) for the fourth-most in program history.
Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall) teamed with
Kirstine Garder to pick up a 21-8, 21-14 win in the opener over UT Martin before concluding the day with a 25-23, 21-13 win over Jacksonville.
Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) reached the 20 win milestone in her young career, as well.
The duo of
Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and
Kayla Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) opened their third season together, this time at the No. 2 pair, with 24-22, 21-12 and 21-5, 21-14 wins. They both reside a few wins shy of Borgiotti with 42 apiece.
Jenna Banz and freshman
Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Heath HS) both made their debuts in the Green and Blue together at the No. 3 pair, where they swept both opponents, 21-16, 21-16 and 21-11, 21-13.
Banz (Cambridge, Ontario/St. Benedict Catholic Secondary) is a transfer from the University of Hawaii.
Two more players also won in their debuts -
Shelby Beisner (Port Charlotte, Fla./Charlotte HS), who teamed with
Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) at the No. 4 pair, and
Elizabeth Richmond (Oakville, Ontario/Blythe Academy), who picked up two sweeps with
Emma Hansen (Trophy Club, Texas/Westlake Academy) at No. 5.
FGCU is now 2-0 all-time against UT Martin and 12-7 vs Jacksonville. They are a combined 4-1 against Saturday's opponents. The Eagles have also now won five straight season openers with a 6-3 all-time record.
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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 81 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 women's basketball (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 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-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester 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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