JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Junior Pierre Viallaneix (Apopka, Fla./Winter Park HS/Western Carolina) posted a third-round score of 66 to finish tied for fourth individually as the FGCU men's golf team concluded the Sea Best Invitational tied for ninth on Tuesday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass's Dye's Valley course. The Eagle shot a 54-hole best 284 to move up two spots closing out the first tournament of the spring.
 
"I'm proud of how the team continued to improve through each round," said head coach Andrew Danna. "We cleaned up some mistakes from the earlier rounds and finished strong as a team – particularly in closing out the final three holes of the day. We're looking forward to getting back to work to keep improving."
 
Viallaneix's 66 was the 10^th lowest round in program history and tied Austin Cherichella's (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) same score for the low round of the year. It was two strokes off the lowest round of his career as well. He led the Eagles with a three-round total of 211.
 
The junior's day was highlighted by an eagle on No. 8 which was set to play as a par four during the tournament instead of the normal par five. He holed the eagle from 180 yards away. He and Jon Hopkins (Bishop's Stortford, England/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) led FGCU with 10 total birdies through the three rounds.
 
The duo combined for nearly half the team's total birdies as the Eagles tied for third alongside UAB with 44 over the two days.
 
Along with his eagle, Viallaneix had five birdies on Tuesday including three in his first nine holes where he hit the turn a two under. His only miscue on the second nine was a double on No. 6 but he followed that with a birdie, the eagle, and then closed the day at par.
 
Cherichella finished the tournament tied for 15^th (214) after going even on the first nine holes of the day. He finished the day with pars on five of the last six holes to finish with a score of 73 in the round.
 
Hopkins shot 72 in the third round to finish tied for 41^st (219), while Frankie Capan III (North Oaks, Minn./Northwest Christian HS/Alabama) and Brady Madsen (Raymond, Minn./MacCray HS/Winona State) each tied for 57^th (223).

The Eagles will return to action on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 12-13, at the Gator Invitational hosted by Florida.
 
TPC Sawgrass – Dye's Valley
Par 70 – 6,873 yards
 
FGCU Lineup:
T4 - Pierre Viallaneix – 73-72-66 – 211
T15 - Austin Cherichella – 69-72-73 – 214
T41 - Jon Hopkins – 76-71-72 – 219
T57 - Frankie Capan III – 75-74-74 – 223
T57 - Brady Madsen – 76-74-73 – 223
T63 - Lucas Fallotico (Indiv) – 75-73-77 – 225
83 - Thomas Salanito (Indiv) – 76-77 – 153 (DNF)
 
Sea Best Invite Field:
1. - #39 Florida – 287-283-276 – 846
2. - #26 Liberty – 285-284-283 – 852
3. - #51 North Florida – 296-283-274 – 853
4. - #50 UAB – 282-290-285 – 857
T5. - #72 College of Charleston – 285-282-291 – 858
T5. - #35 Louisville – 288-288-282 – 858
7. - #9 Texas A&M – 294-281-284 – 859
8. - #109 Campbell – 284-284-292 – 860
T9. - #71 FGCU – 293-289-284 – 866
T9. - #99 Jacksonville – 293-286-287 – 866
11. - #44 Charlotte – 288-291-288 – 867
12. - #105 Lipscomb – 295-293-291 – 879
13. - #215 USC Upstate – 308-297-297 – 902
 
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HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA:
Danna just finished his second year at the helm of the FGCU men's golf program leading the Eagles to a second place finish at the ASUN Championship. One of the best turnarounds in NCAA history saw the Green and Blue, led by Van Holmgren who became the first player to earn PING All-Region honors, jump from No. 257 in the final 2019-20 GolfStat.com rankings to a program-best 65 to close out 2020-21. Before taking over in Fort Myers, he served the 2018-19 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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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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. 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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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