FORT MYERS, Fla. – After shooting a 294 in Saturday's second round, the FGCU men's golf team dropped back two spots to finish the day in a tie for fifth heading into Sunday's final round of the Linger Longer Invitational. The Eagles sit tied with Chattanooga with a 36-hole total of 594 and are just three strokes behind No. 45 Virginia and eight behind Louisiana Tech.
 
"We made a few mistakes today compared to yesterday," said head coach Andrew Danna. "We have one more round of competition left that we're looking forward to and we will make the most of that chance."
 
Sophomore Jon Hopkins (Bishop's Stortford, England/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and senior Van Holmgren (Plymouth, Minn./Waysata HS/North Dakota State) lead the Green and Blue as they are tied for 16^th individually. Van Holmgren shot 71 on Saturday, while Hopkins scored 74 as both have a two-round total of 144.
 
Freshman Austin Cherichella (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) shot 73 for the second straight round and sits tied for 30^th (146). Junior Brady Madsen (Raymond, Minn./MacCray HS/Winona State) is just a stroke behind Cherichella and is tied for 36^th. Graduate Michael O'Brien (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller HS/Saint Joseph's) rounds out the group in 72^nd with a two-day total of 156.
 
No. 51 Charlotte moved into first place after scoring 277 on Saturday moving ahead of No. 40 Georgia Tech which shot 284. Connor McKay of Middle Tennessee State and John Gough of Charlotte are each tied for first individually with a two-day score of 135.
 
The Eagles, ranked 85^th in the www.GolfStat.com rankings, added 27 birdies on the day and have the fourth most in the field with 39 – just six behind Charlotte and Georgia Tech's leading total of 45.
 
On Saturday, Holmgren finished the round one-under par thanks to three birdies on the front nine that allowed him to go into the turn at two-under. Cherichella and Hopkins each were even to start the day's first nine holes. Cherichella added two birdies on the back nine to finish one over, while Hopkins was par-or-better on seven of the last nine holes of the day to finish with 74.
 
The Eagles will open the final round tomorrow starting at 9:15 AM on hole No. 1 with live scoring provided through www.GolfStat.com.
 
FGCU Lineup:
T16 - Van Holmgren – 73-71 – 144
T16 - Jon Hopkins – 70-74 – 144
T30 - Austin Cherichella – 73-73 – 146
T36 - Brady Madsen – 71-76 – 147
72 - Michael O'Brien – 75-81 – 156
 
Linger Longer Tournament Scoring (GolfStat.com Ranking):
1 - #51 Charlotte – 285 – 277 – 562
2 - #40 Georgia Tech – 283-284 – 567
3 - #108 Louisiana Tech – 290-283 – 573
4 - #45 Virginia – 291-287 – 578
T5 - #85 FGCU – 287-294 – 581
T5 - #142 Chattanooga – 297-284 – 581
7 - #79 Middle Tennessee State – 296-287 – 583
8 - #160 Memphis – 289-295 – 584
9 - #146 Mercer – 297-290 – 587
10 - #154 High Point – 287-302 – 589
11 - #119 Kennesaw State – 295-296 – 591
12 - North Alabama – 294-300 – 594
T13 - #153 Georgia State – 299-297 – 596
T13 - #106 Augusta – 308-288 – 596
15 - #145 Troy – 298-299 – 597
16 - #126 Toledo – 300-299 – 599
 
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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 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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