FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming & diving team is set to compete at the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships from Wednesday through Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Eagles aim to capture their 11th CCSA title in program history, and the fourth under head coach Dave Rollins.

Rollins led the Eagles to a second-place finish at the CCSA Championships in 2022. Wiktoria Czarncecka was named CCSA Swimmer of the Year and Co-Swimmer of the Championships along with teammate Petra Halmai. The Eagles took home nine golds, including four relay gold medals.

For the complete 2023 CCSA Championship schedule, please visit the championship central link by clicking HERE. Both the prelims and finals all four days of the championship will be streamed on ESPN+. Live results can be accessed via the MeetMobile App.

FGCU closed the 2022-23 regular season campaign with a 198-116 Senior Day victory over North Florida on Jan. 28, winning 11 of the 17 events. The Green & Blue finished the year 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the CCSA.

FGCU won 31 individual gold medals throughout the course of the regular season, 37 counting relays. In all, 15 different Eagles produced a first-place podium finish -- with freshman Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS) leading the charge with six individually, 12 counting relays.

Junior Emma Hixenbaugh (Louisville, Ky./Ballard HS), senior Jenna Gwinn (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy/UMBC), and junior Emma Bjoernholdt (Bagsvaerd, Denmark/Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium/St. Leo University) have each won four in 2022-23.

Hixenbaugh holds the fastest 200-yard backstroke time in the CCSA this season with a mark of 1:58.90. Kuriger's 100 fly time of 53.94 and 1:59.63 in the 200 fly also ranks as the top mark across the conference.

The score by senior Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) in 1-meter diving of 271.78 against FIU qualified her for the upcoming NCAA Zone Diving Championships on March 5-8 in Knoxville, Tenn. 

Wakefield and junior Kylie Palian (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora HS) were the only two Eagles to win CCSA Women's Swimmer or Diver of the Week in 2022-23.

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 FGCUswimming & 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 40-30-1 (.563) dual-meet record, which includes a 17-3 (.850) 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 (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 93 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 46 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), 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 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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