JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU swim team opened the season strong, Saturday afternoon at the UNF Invitational, taking home the title with 888.5 points, 73.5 points ahead of second-place Georgia Southern in the six-team event.

The Eagles won 12 races - six individual races and six relays. Seniors Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School)and Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum NR 10 W Lublinie), who each won two individual races. Freshman Macy Mullis (Colbert, Ga./Madison County HS) and Claire McAtee (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) also added wins for FGCU.

"Coming into today we knew the team was tired after some really strong early season training," said head coach Dave Rollins. "We raced, a lot. Many back-to-back races, with only a couple of minutes between them. Heading into the second half of the meet, the team really stepped up their energy and support for one another and it absolutely helped us finish the day strong."

Mullis started the day with a victory in the 50-yard backstroke, taking the race with a time of 27.20 in her first-career race as an Eagle. Halmai followed with a win in the 50 breast (30.20) before winning the 100-yard IM with a time of 59.42, the only swimmer under a minute.

Czarnecka swept the butterfly events with wins in the 50 fly (25.60) and the 100 fly (56.90), both of which are top times in the CCSA so far this season. McAtee rounded out the individual wins for the Eagles, touching first in the 100 back with a time of 57.86.

Czarnecka also had a second-place finish in the 50 free (23.95) while Halmai took home third in the 50 fly (26.09).

Sophomore Emma Hixenbaugh (Louisville, Ky./Ballard HS), junior Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior HS), junior Anna Hogan (Louisville, Ky./Dupont Manual HS), junior Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija I Ekonomska Skola Benedikta Kotruljevica), and sophomore Sophia Macaisa  (Inverness, Fla./Lecantho HS) all had solid days with fourth-place finishes in their respective races. Hixenbaugh finished fourth in the 100-yard back (59.21), Jerew was fourth in the 50 free (24.44), Hogan was fourth in the 50 breast (31.15), Sulenta was fourth in the 50 back (27.66), and Macaisa was fourth in the 50 fly (26.27).

In the relays, the Eagles claimed victories in six of the seven races on the day. After winning the 200-yard medley relay to begin the session, FGCU touched first in the 300 back relay, 300 fly relay, 300 breast relay, 500 free relay, and 400 medley relay as well.

The Eagles will return to the pool for their home opener against Vanderbilt on October 16.