FORT WORTH, Texas – The FGCU beach volleyball team (11-13, 4-4 ASUN Conference) earned a 5-0 victory Friday evening against Texas-El Paso (4-13) on the first day of the TCU Invitational.
  
The Green & Blue dropped its first match of the day, falling 5-0 against No. 1 and undefeated TCU (27-0).
  
"It was great to be playing in Texas for the first time in as long as I can remember," said FGCU head beach volleyball coach Chris Sweat. "With a bunch of players from Texas, the fans and parents really showed up and supported our matches today, which was awesome to see. We had some good moments against the No. 1 team in the country, but ultimately, we must do a better job of limiting unforced errors against a team of that caliber.
 
"UTEP played a steady game against us, so it was nice to get the sweep. We are looking forward to two tough matches (Saturday) as we start to build momentum towards the end of season."
  
The Eagles got straight to work against UTEP, as sophomore Kaitlyn Luebbers (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and graduate Lexie Hamilton (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS/UNCW) earned a 21-19, 21-19 victory at No. 4.
 
Sophomore Jacqueline Carpenter (Dublin, Ohio. /Dublin Jerome) and freshman Kristina Gluc (Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola Virtual) teamed at No. 5 to rally and win 19-21, 21-14, 15-4.
 
Freshmen Dylan Brewer (Lantana, Texas/John H. Guyer HS) and Nicole De Oliveira (Cary, N.C./ Green Level HS) clinched the match with a 21-8, 21-13 victory at No. 3.
 
The Eagles continued their offensive barrage, as juniors Kacie Johnson (Frisco, Texas/ Lebanon Trail) and Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Health) prevailed 21-9, 21-18 at No. 1.
 
The Green & Blue's No. 2 pair of senior Shelby Beisner (Port Charlotte, Fla/Charlotte) and junior Trinity Rosales (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) delivered the final point for Eagles with a 21-16, 21-13 showing.
   
The Eagles return to action Saturday for day two of the TCU Invitational – playing Houston Christian (13-12) at 10:30 a.m., and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (19-9) at 2:30 p.m.
  
For complete coverage of the FGCU beach volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /fgcubeachvb and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU beach volleyball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
  
FGCU 0, No. 1 TCU 5
1. Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno (TCU) def. Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) 21-10, 21-13
2. Sutton MacTavish/Ana Vergara (TCU) def. Trinity Rosales/Shelby Beisner (FGCU) 21-17, 21-14
3. Kate Privett/Anhelina Khmil (TCU) def. Nicole De Oliveira/Dylan Brewer (FGCU) 22-20, 21-14
4. Rochelle Scott/Hailey Brockett (TCU) def. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) 21-13, 21-15
5. Hailey Hamlett/Keagan Polk (TCU) def. Kristina Gluc/Jacqueline Carpenter (FGCU) 21-10, 21-7
Ext. Josie Sek/Tara Patton (TCU) def. Lily Felts/Mia Thompson (FGCU) 21-17, 21-14
  
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
 
FGCU 5, UTEP 0
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Krista Paegle/Katie Martin (UTEP) 21-9, 21-18
2. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) def. Ema Uskokovic/Sara Pustahija (UTEP) 21-16, 21-13
3. Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) def. Savannah Marenco/Paulina Acuna (UTEP) 21-8, 21-13
4. Kaitlyn Luebbers/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) def. Madison Hilll/Serena Patterson (UTEP) 21-19, 21-19
5. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) def. Marian Ovalle/Mia Bella Ruiz (UTEP) 19-21, 21-14, 15-4
Ext. Lily Felts/Mia Thompson (FGCU) def. Aaliyah Austin/Deanna Almaguer (UTEP) 21-13, 21-10
 
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 1 ,2

 
COACH SWEAT
Chris Sweat's 2022 team finished with a program-high 29 wins, and Sweat earned his 50th career victory in just his third season as coach. Sweat became the first coach in FGCU program history to earn ASUN Coach of the Year accolade after guiding his team to its 11th-consecutive appearance in the ASUN Championship. The Eagles earned wins over two top-25 teams in 2022, downing No. 17 Stetson and No. 18 South Carolina while also taking down seven different conference squads. Sweat's FGCU program again ascended to a No. 20 ranking in the AVCA Top 20 in March 2022 and maintained that ranking through the ASUN Tournament. He is in his fourth season as head coach of the FGCU beach volleyball program after spending the prior five seasons as an assistant coach. A member of VolleyballMag.com's Under 40 Coaching Hotshots list in January 2020, he led the Eagles to a 4-0 start in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 shutdown and has compiled a 61-37 (.683) record

#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 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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 3.67 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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