FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming & diving team (0-0, 0-0 CCSA) is set to host its first meet of the new year, as it will take on the Miami Hurricanes (1-1, 0-0 ACC) this Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The meet will be open to the public, though attendance will be capped at 50 spectators. All attendees are required to wear masks at all times and must adhere to CDC guidelines, which include social distancing. The action will also be streamed on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend.
The meet against the Hurricanes will be the Eagles' first since the FGCU Invitational, which was held at The Nest back in November. After three days of competition, FGCU emerged with 1420 team points, downing both second-place FIU (994) and third-place Georgia Southern (712). The Green & Blue's performance during the meet earned the team a sixth-place ranking on CollegeSwimming.com's Mid-Major list.
In addition to the excitement from the win, the season-opening event was also highlighted by senior
Petra Halmai's (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) record-breaking performance in the 100 Breast. The Hungary native's 59.89 stands as both a program record and an NCAA 'B' Cut time. More recently, Halmai continued her pursuit of earning a spot at the Olympics by
winning the 100-meter breaststroke at the Hungarian National Championship. Her victory, as well as a pair of second-place finishes in both the 50- and 200-meter breaststroke events, earned her a spot on the European Championship Team, as well as a provisional spot on the Olympic squad.
Despite the team having just one event under its belt, Halmai is not the only Eagle that has swam an NCAA 'B' Cut time thus far as junior
Wiktoria Czarnecka's (Lublin, Poland/Liceum NR 10 W Lublinie) time of 22.66 in the FGCU Invitational's 50 Free also surpassed the aforementioned mark. Additionally, the trio of sophomores
Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario/Bishop Macdonelle CHS),
Delaney Nelson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) and
Alyssa Schmidt (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) have each recorded NCAA Zone-qualifying scores on the 1m board. Â
Wednesday's meet will also be the first of 2021 for the Hurricanes, who competed twice before the winter break. Miami opened up its slate with a road contest against the Florida Gators and dropped a 190-94 decision. The team then bounced back with a 946-892 win over Vanderbilt after three days of competition against the Commodores.
Miami has a lot of experience on its side this year, as only four freshmen joined the team. The veteran presence makes the squad fairly similar to the one that picked up the win in last year's meeting between the Hurricanes and the Eagles, but the overall history between the sides favors FGCU 8-4.
For complete coverage of FGCU swimming & diving, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCU_WSwimDive), Instagram (@FGCU_WSwimDive) and online atÂ
www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU swimming & diving or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visitingÂ
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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