FORT MYERS, Fla. – It's the final home match of the regular season for the No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team on Friday as the Eagles (16-5) host Tampa at The ROC. The opening serve is set for 12 PM with a special Senior Day ceremony set to begin at 11:45 AM. Admission and parking are free to all.
 
Prior to the match, the Eagles will honor four graduating student-athletes: Snowy Burnam, Kirstine Garder, Emma Hansen, and Cortney VanLiew. Combined, the foursome have been key contributors to 69 wins for the program during their careers and the ascension of the program into the national rankings.
 
FGCU enters the match having won six straight after last Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of Palm Beach Atlantic.
 
Following the home match, the two programs will play again up in Tampa on Tuesday, April 5 at 2 PM. The Eagles will then take part in the FAU Paradise Classic (4/8-9) and the Palmetto Invitational (4/15-16) as the final tune-ups before the ASUN Tournament.
 
The Green and Blue are ranked 20^th in the AVCA poll for the second straight week and have been ranked among the top 30 for much of the season.
 
Tampa enters the match with a 9-9 overall record but have dropped four of the last five matches, though three of those were against No. 1 TCU, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 6 LSU. The Eagles are 4-3 all-time against the Spartans.
 
Prior to the sweep of PBA last week, Shelby Beisner and Trinity Rosales were named the ASUN Pair of the Week on March 23 after winning six straight matches which included victories over No. 17 Stetson and No. 19 FIU.
 
The duo are one of three pairs to have already reached double-figure wins for the season. Hansen and Kaitlyn Leubbers are 16-4 on the year, Maddison Parmelly and Kacie Johnson are 14-6, while Hansen and Leubbers are 13-3.
 
Burnam leads the Eagles with 56 career wins which ranks fifth all-time. She's just 12 shy of passing Kayla Whetstone who set the current program record last year with 67. Hansen has moved up to 8^th all-time with 45 career wins, while Garder and Johnson are tied for 11^th at 37 wins each.
 
With 16 wins already on the year, FGCU needs just two more to match the 2019 squad which had 18 as ASUN runner-ups.
 
For complete coverage of the beach volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /fgcubeachvb and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU beach volleyball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
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IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
COACH SWEAT
Chris Sweat is in his third season as head coach of the FGCU beach volleyball program after spending the prior five seasons as an assistant coach. A member of VolleyballMag.com's Under 40 Coaching Hotshots list in January 2020, he led the Eagles to a 4-0 start in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 shutdown and has compiled a 37-20 record to open his head coaching tenure.
 
#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 90 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 44 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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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