KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Freshman Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS) won gold in the 200 fly Friday to highlight the FGCU swimming & diving team effort during day-three action of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships.

Kuriger's gold-medal performance came at a record pace, 1:59.16 for the fourth-fastest mark in FGCU history. Liberty's Chloe Harris took silver at 2:00.00, and James Madison's Angela Ritchie won bronze at 2:00.39.

FGCU's medal tally improved to four, with Kuriger being crowned the 200 fly champion -- her second medal of the CCSAs

"We had a great day today," said FGCU head swimming and diving coach Dave Rollins. "Building some momentum into day four is huge, and we will be able to capitalize on it. Congratulations to Cam on winning the 200 fly. Jenna moving up to seventh all-time in the 100 breaststroke, Lucy's ninth fastest in the 100 back, were all major swims today along with Emma, Hailey, and Michaela contributing major points for the Green & Blue. Excited to finish out the week (Saturday). It'll be a great day."

Two fellow Eagles also etched their names Friday into FGCU's top 10. Senior Jenna Gwinn's (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy/UMBC) 1:01.84 in the 100 breast finals was the seventh-fastest in school history, placing fourth.

Senior Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija i ekonomska skola Benedikta Kotruljevica) recorded the ninth-fastest 100 back mark at 54.68.

Through three days, FGCU remains in fourth place with 612 points. Liberty sits atop the team standings with 1,006.5 points.

Also Thursday, senior Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) won her third career silver medal at the CCSAs with a 232.00 score, just 2.85 points shy of gold. Kuriger won FGCU's second silver medal of the day by touching second in the 100 fly behind the ninth-fastest mark in program history at 53.30. 

On Wednesday, the Eagles won bronze in the 200 medley relay.

The final day of the 2023 CCSA Championship is Saturday. The prelims begin at 10 a.m., with the finals to follow at 6 p.m. Both the prelims and the finals will be streamed 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 Championship Standings:
1 Liberty: 1,006.5
2 James Madison: 910
3 Queens (N.C.): 612
4 FGCU: 612
5 UNC Asheville: 609
6 Georgia Southern: 400
7 Old Dominion: 378
8 Campbell: 377
9 Gardner-Webb: 242
10 North Florida: 221.5
11 Bellarmine: 155

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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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!
 
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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 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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