FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a win earlier this week at the Coral Creek Club Invitational, the FGCU men's golf team returns to action this Sunday through Tuesday, March 6-8, at the Auburn Intercollegiate at the Grand National Lake Course in Opelika, Alabama.
 
The tournament will feature seven top-100 programs highlighted by No. 6 Vanderbilt and No. 19 Auburn in the field. The Eagles moved up to a program-record No. 59 in the GolfStat.com rankings following their tournament win on Tuesday.
 
Due to forecasted weather in the area, Sunday's opening round on the par 72, 7289 yard course will begin at 7 AM. The Eagles will tee off on No. 1 with Brady Madsen starting then followed by the reset of the line-up. Live scoring will be available through www.GolfStat.com.
 
At the Coral Creek Club Invitational, Austin Cherichella finished second overall to earn ASUN Golfer of the Week honors, while Jon Hopkins tied for third to lead FGCU. Frankie Capan III and Lucas Fallotico each tied for 12^th overall.
 
Cherichella shot a career-low 207 thanks to a pair of 68s in the first and third rounds. The team win was the first of the year for the Eagles as they carded a 54-hole total of 838 which was the second lowest score in program history. FGCU picked up five wins over Top 50 teams and nine over top 100 programs.
 
Hopkins and Pierre Viallaneix are tied for the team scoring lead at 72.19 strokes each through seven tournaments. Cherichella is just behind at 72.29, while Fallotico (72.50) and Capan (72.78) round out the top scorers.
 
Tiger Invitational by Jason Dufner
Grand National Lake Course – Par 72 – 7,289 yards
 
FGCU Lineup:
1 – Jon Hopkins
2 – Austin Cherichella
3 – Pierre Viallaneix
4 – Frankie Capan III
5 – Brady Madsen
Indiv – Lucas Fallotico
 
Tournament Field:
#19 Auburn
#103 Florida Atlantic
#59 FGCU
#165 Georgia State
#126 James Madison
#196 Kennesaw State
#86 Lamar
#111 Louisiana Tech
#52 Missouri
North Alabama
#140 UNCW
#83 South Alabama
#78 Southern Mississippi
#6 Vanderbilt
#198 Western Kentucky
#161 Wichita State
 
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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 and being named the program's first-ever ASUN Coach of the Year. 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 then program-best 65 to close out 2020-21. The Eagles set a new program-best during the 2022 season at No. 59 in the GolfStat.com rankings. Holmgren won the ASUN Championship individual title to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. 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 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 89 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 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. 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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