FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU Swimming and Diving begins the new year by hosting non-conference opponent Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Lee County/FGCU Aquatics Center.

Admission is free and live results will be posted on the Meet Mobile app.

The Eagles splash into Thursday's dual meet 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). FGCU ended 2022 on Dec. 2 with a 148-95 dual-meet loss to CCSA opponent UNC Asheville.

FGCU earned four golds against UNC Asheville, including two on the diving boards courtesy of Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle HS). Wakefield captured the gold in both the 1m and the 3m diving events.

In total, the Green & Blue has tallied 12 golds throughout the 2022-23 campaign thus far, as Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS) paces the Eagles with three.

Eastern Michigan arrives in Southwest Florida 1-3 and 1-1 in the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC). It has been over a month since EMU has last competed -- having worked Dec. 3 at the Denison Invitational, where the Eagles finished third out of five squads competing and amassing 1,753 points.

Eastern's last dual meet occurred Nov. 12 against Oakland, with EMU absorbing a 173-125 defeat.

Emma Hixenbaugh (Louisville, Ky./Hillsborough HS) and Kuriger still reign supreme across the CSSA as the new year commences. Hixenbaugh continues to boast the CCSA's top 200 backstroke time this season with her 1:58.90 effort at the Gamecock Invitational. Kuriger is atop the conference in two separate events with the fastest 100 and 200 fly times (53.94 and 1:59.63) of the year.

Thursday's Order of Events:
200 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
3m Diving
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
1m Diving
400 IM
200 Free Relay

For complete coverage of FGCU swimming & diving, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCU_WSwimDive), Instagram (@FGCU_WSwimDive) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU swimming & diving or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
HEAD COACH DAVE ROLLINS
Head coach Dave Rollins is only the second coach in program history. He was hired Sept. 1, 2016 and owns a 38-27-1 (.576) dual meet record, which includes a 16-3 (.842) mark against CCSA opponents, in his seventh season. Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles (2017, 2018), marking the ninth championship in 10 years before winning the 10th championship in program history in 2021. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in two of his seasons at the helm. Previously, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at The Ohio State University. Rollins brings over a decade of coaching experience to The Nest, which includes helping to develop Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans, along with multiple conference champions. A native of Brockton, Mass., he was a standout collegiate swimmer in his own right and was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame in 2017, as a nine-time NCAA All-American, national champion, school record holder and team captain.

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!  
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an 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 and No. 25 in 2022-23) 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 & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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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