GAINESVILLE, Fla. –
Jon Hopkins carded a third-round 67 to pace the FGCU men's golf team to a sixth place finish at the VyStar Gators Invitational on Sunday at the Bostick Golf Course. The Eagles picked up four top-60 wins over the weekend as they finished ahead of No. 23 LSU, No. 24 Liberty, No. 42 Missouri, and No. 59 UCF.
"The guys did a great job managing their games this week. We'll look to evaluate and learn from the experience," said head coach
Andrew Danna. "We are excited for our next opportunity to compete at the Coral Creek Club Collegiate Invitational!"
The Eagles shot 844 for the tournament which was just one stroke behind No. 5 Florida's 'B' Team and five behind Georgia Southern. FGCU's 281 was the fourth lowest total of the third round on Sunday. No. 31 Florida (812) won the tournament overall, while No. 3 Oklahoma State took second and No. 25 South Florida placed third.
Hopkins finished the tournament with a pair of rounds in the 60s and his two-day total of 208 was his lowest of the season. He also led the Eagles with 13 birdies.
Four Eagles placed in the top 30 with
Pierre Viallaneix finishing tied for 24
th (212) after shooting 70 on Sunday.
Austin Cherichella and
Frankie Capan III tied for 28
th (213) with Capan posting his third straight round of 71. He also tied for third overall in the field with 41 pars.
FGCU will next return to action on Monday and Tuesday, February 28-March 1, when the Eagles host the Coral Creek Club Invitational in Placida, Fla. Live stats will be available through www.GolfStat.com.
45th VyStar Gators Invitational
Mark Bostick Golf Course – Par 70 – 6,701 Yards
FGCU Lineup:
T10 -
Jon Hopkins – 68-73-67 – 208
T24 -
Pierre Viallaneix – 71-71-70 – 212
T28 -
Austin Cherichella – 71-67-75 – 213
T28 -
Frankie Capan III – 71-71-71 – 213
T69 -
Brady Madsen – 74-76-73 – 223
Tournament Field:
1 - #31 Florida – 267-269-276 – 812
2 - #3 Oklahoma State – 278-271-275 – 824
3 - #25 South Florida – 280-276-282 – 838
4 - #91 Georgia Southern – 290-275-274 – 839
5 - Florida 'B' Team – 279-278-286 – 843
6 - #72 FGCU – 281-282-281 – 844
7 - #23 LSU – 281-279-287 – 847
T8 - #93 Jacksonville – 281-287-287 – 855
T8 - #78 Penn State – 284-286-285 – 855
T10 - #114 Florida Atlantic – 284-288-284 – 856
T10 - #75 West Virginia – 289-279-288 – 856
12 - #42 Missouri – 281-284-292 – 857
13 - #59 UCF – 283-288-289 – 860
14 - #144 UNCW – 284-295-289 – 869
15 - #24 Liberty – 299-266-294 – 879
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www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's golf and all 15 sport programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
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HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA:
Danna is in his third year at the helm of the FGCU men's golf program after leading the Eagles to a second-place finish at the 2021 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.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
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.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
