FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Suncoast Credit Union FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athletes of the Month for September have been announced with sophomore
Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) of women's soccer and redshirt-junior
Magnus Johnson (Naples, Fla./Homeschool/UCF) of men's tennis earning the honor.
A female and male Eagle are chosen as the FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Month throughout the academic year. Factors in the selection for the honor include a combination of significant athletic and overall success.
Chelsey Lockey of volleyball and
Wyatt Kistner of men's soccer earned the distinction for the month of August.
Labbe has been an integral part of FGCU's strong season as she is second on the team with 15 points, scoring six goals and tallying three assists. In conference play, Labbe has continued her excellent play with four goals and an assist as the Eagles are 6-1-1 in ASUN play. Her big week against Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine in which she scored three goals resulted in her winning ASUN Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
In the classroom, Labbe has been just as solid as she has a 3.71 GPA while studying Health Science. She has also contributed to the community with more than 60 hours of service learning at SoVi Move In, Damien's Playhouse, Night at the Nest, and Canned Food Drive.
"Ashley is a force on and off the field for our program," said head coach
Jim Blankenship. "As strong as she is on the field, I know she is just as dedicated in the classroom and in the community. She is truly a great representation of our program and FGCU."
Coming into the season as the #123-ranked tennis player in the country and the two-time defending ASUN Player of the Year, Johnson has backed it up with strong play at his first two events. At the UCF Fall Sizzler, he picked up a singles win over Thomas Kennedy of Furman, but saved his best play for doubles, winning the title with partner
Max Damm over a pair from Georgia Southern. He followed that performance with a win over Ezequiel Santalla of Tulsa at the ITA All-American Championships, one of the most prestigious fall tournaments in college tennis.
Off the court, Johnson has a 3.95 GPA while majoring in Management. In 2022, he became the first Eagle in six years to be named to the ASUN All-Academic Team. He has also contributed with 36.5 hours of community service at Community Cooperative, Tom Manring Foundation, Naples Players, and with Hurricane Ian cleanup.
"Magnus is the quintessential student-athlete," said head coach
CJ Weber. "He plays #1 singles and #1 doubles for us. He has the highest GPA on the team. He works incredibly hard on and off the court. He is a great teammate to everyone on the team. He's humble and hungry to improve. He has great character and integrity. Basically, there's nothing bad you can say about him. I'm very proud of his development here at FGCU, and I'm looking forward to see what this year has in store for him and his teammates."
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.
