DURHAM, N.C. - FGCU Men's Golf finished eighth at the Rod Myers Invitational Saturday to begin the fall season.
The Rod Myers Invitational, hosted by Duke University, comprised of seven top-55 programs. #49 Alabama captured both the team and individual titles. The Crimson Tide posted a team to-par score of -13, 851.
#54 FGCU carded a three-round team score of 877, besting #45 Missouri by one stroke. FGCU also placed higher than Power Five opponents Virginia Tech and Penn State.
"I'm really proud of our guys this week," head coach Andrew Danna said. "Sure, we were inconsistent this week at times, but every opportunity to compete is a chance to learn and grow. We will continue to work hard and be ready to compete at our next opportunity."
On Friday, the Green and Blue led all participating programs with the lowest second round, a 280.
Lucas Fallotico (Italy) paced all Eagles in the Tar Heel State by placing tied for eighth, one slot shy of tying a career-best finish.
Fallotico shot a final-round of 72 to finish 2-under for the event, 214. He carded a second-round 69 with five birdies on the back night to highlight his weekend after opening the event with a 73.
Entering Saturday's final round, Austin Cherichella (Orlando, Fla.) was tied for first on the player leaderboard.
Cherichella finished tied for 17th with a 54-hole total of 217, 1-over-par. He carded the lowest round among the Eagle starting five this weekend, a second round of 68.
Fallotico and Cherichella were the only two Eagles to post rounds in the 60s.
Pierre Viallaneix (Apopka, Fla.) finished tied for 35th behind a 2-over effort (222). Lukas Roessler (Chile) placed tied for 57th in his first collegiate event.
FGCU will be back in action Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 12-13) with individuals only at the Streamsong Invitational, hosted by Lipsomb in Bowling Green, Florida.
Duke University Golf Club (Durham, N.C.)
Par 72: 7,154 Yards
Sept. 9-10, 2022
EAGLE STARTING FIVE
T8 Lucas Fallotico 73-69-72 | -2 | 214
T17 Austin Cherichella 72-68-77 | +1 | 217
T35 Pierre Viallaneix 74-72-76 | +6 | 222
T57 Lukas Roessler 80-71-77 | +12 | 228
T65 Jon Hopkins 78-77-75 | +14 | 230
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 #49 Alabama -13 | 851
2 #42 Duke -2 | 862
3 #34 Charlotte -1 | 863
4 #36 North Florida +2 | 866
5 UNCG +9 | 873
T6 #35 Liberty +10 | 874
T6 UNCW +10 | 874
8 #54 FGCU +13 | 877
9 #45 Missouri +14 | 878
10 Virginia Tceh +18 | 882
11 Loyola Maryland +32 | 869
12 Princeton +35 | 899
13 Penn State +36 | 900
14 East Carolina +38 | 902
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E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
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!
HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA
Danna is in his fourth year at the helm of the men's golf program with the Eagles earning FGCU's first-ever NCAA Tournament at-large berth in department history during the 2022 season. He has led the Eagles to second-place finishes at the 2021 and 2022 ASUN Championships and was named the program's first-ever ASUN Coach of the Year (2021) and repeated in 2022. 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. 47 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.
#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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 plus 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 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.
