FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the first time since intercollegiate sports were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic last March, the FGCU men's golf team will resume competition this Sunday through Tuesday (Jan. 24-26) at the Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate hosted by Charleston Southern in Kiawah Island, S.C.
The tournament will be held at the Oak Point Golf Course with one-round held each day. Live scoring will be available through GolfStat.com.
Not only will this be the first competition as a team since last March, but it will also feature an entirely brand new line-up for the Eagles with all six making their official FGCU debuts.
FGCU LINE-UP:
- Frankie Capan (North Oaks, Minn./Northwest Christian HS/Alabama)
- Brady Madsen (Raymond, Minn./MacCray HS/Winona State)
- Jon Hopkins (Bishop's Stortford, England/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
- Van Holmgren (Plymouth, Minn./Waysata HS/North Dakota State)
- Michael O'Brien (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller HS/Saint Joseph's)
- Austin Cherichella (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS)
While the program could not compete as a team, several individuals competed during the fall semester as unattached amateurs with tremendous success. Sophomore Capan was named the Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year in October, while senior
Van Holmgren and graduate student
Michael O'Brien were ranked among the top 250 collegiate players in the PGA Tour University Rankings.
Madsen and Hopkins will be making their FGCU debuts after All-America careers at Winona State and Mississippi Gulf Coast, respectively. Cherichella was one of the top incoming freshmen from the state of Florida entering the fall and showcased his potential with a third-round 64 at the Golfweek Miami Amateur in October.
The 10-team field will be an early ASUN indicator for the Eagles as well with both Kennesaw State and Lipscomb taking part. Coastal Carolina enters the tournament ranked 35
th in the latest Golfstat rankings, but were also the only program to have competed during the fall.
AGT TOURNAMENT FIELD (Golfweek/Golfstat Rankings):
Charleston Southern
#46/#35 Coastal Carolina
FGCU
Gardner Webb
#10 High Point
Jacksonville State
Kennessaw State
Lipscomb
Morehead State
USC Upstate
Following the AGT, the Eagles will return to action next Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 1-2 at the Sea Best Invitational hosted by Jacksonville.
For complete coverage of the FGCU men's golf team, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_MGOLF and online at
www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's golf and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA:
Danna will enter his second year at the helm of the men's golf program this fall. He served the previous season as the assistant at LSU. Prior to that he was the ultra-successful head coach for six years at Lynn University where he led them to the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship and was, subsequently, chosen the David Williams National Coach of the Year. He also led the Fighting Knights to three national runner-up placements, with a third and eighth place finish in his other two seasons.
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#FEEDFGCU
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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, including three men's golfers. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (#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 in their sport. In 2019-20, they ran their streak to three consecutive years leading both groups with the highest percentage of teams again receiving such high distinction (33% via 5 of 15 programs). 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--
