KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The FCCU swimming & diving team is in fourth place Thursday after the second day of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships.

"Big day on the boards," said FGCU head swimming & diving coach Dave Rollins. "Congratulations to Reese on finishing second, and to all our divers crushing it. Seeing Cam make her first individual podium was also a special moment. We had a strong day, which is what we needed in a tight team race. Looking forward to seeing our ladies come out (Friday) and continue representing the Green & Blue."

FGCU climbed one spot on the team leaderboard by earning 291 points, but James Madison's two-day tally of 712.5 points moved the Dukes into first place over Liberty's 678.

Individually, two Eagles won silver medals during Thursday's action, one in the pool and one off the diving board. Senior Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) won her third career silver medal at the CCSA's with a 232.00 score, just 2.85 points shy of gold.

Freshman Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS) won FGCU's second silver medal of the day by touching second in the 100 Fly behind the ninth-fastest mark in program history (53.30). On Wednesday, FGCU won bronze in the 200 medley relay. 

In all, 10 different Eagles advanced to their respective finals Thursday.

In the 400 IM, junior Emma Bjoernholdt (Bagsvaerd, Denmark/Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium/St. Leo University) paced all Eagles with a seventh-place performance at 4:28.00. Junior Rebecca Winn (Warwick, United Kingdom/The Kingsley School) finished 12th in 4:27.11, and senior Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/Gymnazium Pierra de Coubertina/East Carolina) placed 23rd in 4:36.55.

Kaja Reinhardt's 1:50.49 time in the 200 Free was good enough for 12th. Teammate and fellow Eagle freshman Mia Burke (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School) placed 16th, senior Anna Hogan (Louisville,Ky./DuPont Manual HS) finished 19th, and junior Emma Hixenbaugh (Louisville, Ky./Ballard HS) rounded out the Green & Blue's showing in 21st.

On Wednesday, FGCU won bronze in the 200 medley relay, and senior Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior High) posted the eighth-fastest 50 Free time in program history during the finals, soaring at a 22.90 pace.

Day three of the four-day CCSA Championships is Friday, with the prelims beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals following at 6 p.m. Both prelim and finals action will be aired on ESPN+.

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.

CCSA Championships Team Standings:
1 James Madison: 712.5
2 Liberty: 678
3 Queens (N.C.): 572
4 FGCU: 442
5 UNC Asheville: 432
6 Campbell: 281
7 Old Dominion: 273
8 Georgia Southern: 266
9 Gardner-Webb: 178
10 North Florida: 158.5
11 Bellarmine: 101

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.
 
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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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