The FGCU men's golf team shot a 303 (+15) in the final round of the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic on Monday at Old Corkscrew Golf Club to finish fourth among nine teams with a 918 (+54). It was the team's highest finish of the fall season.
Campbell (882), the 46th-ranked team in the country via GolfStat, won the event by four strokes over UT Arlington, while Eastern Kentucky finished third - nine strokes ahead of FGCU. Senior Andrew Potter led the Green and Blue with a seventh-place finish following a 223 (+7), which included a final-round 75 (+3).
"We saw some improvement today, but it was still disappointing overall," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "We're a much better team than the results indicate. We will do some evaluation and refocus our attention on improving before the spring season. On the positive side, Andrew had another top 10 performance and Cole shot a 71 today. We had some players under the weather, but we'll get healthy for this spring."
In Monday's final round, sophomore Cole Castro shot a team-low 71 (-1), while freshman Tate Heintzelman finished with a 4-over 76. Heintzelman totaled a 228 (+12) to finish tied for 16th, while Castro tied for 19th with a 230 (+14).
Potter, meanwhile, led the Eagles once again. He didn't go under par in any of the three rounds, but led all of his teammates by at least five strokes and posted his third top 10 finish over four tournaments this fall. In fact, the seventh-place showing was his best of the season so far.
Chase Bigham led FGCU's group of four individuals competing with a 234 (+18), which was good for a top 25 finish.
The Eagles will be back in action this spring beginning with the Colin Montgomerie Invitational on Feb. 25-26.
Individual results:
7. Andrew Potter - 76-72-75---223 (+7)
T-16. Tate Heintzelman - 77-75-76---228 (+12)
T-19. Cole Castro - 77-82-71---230 (+14)
T-33. Brent Fredericksen - 76-80-81---237 (+21)
T-52. Doug Smith - 87-86-84---257 (+41)
The following individuals will also compete:
T-25. Chase Bigham - 80-76-78---234 (+18)
T-45. Remec Carlson - 85-82-81---248 (+32)
T-45. Mark Iwinski Jr. - 81-81-86---248 (+32)
49. Luke Farmer - 78-85-86---249 (+33)
Complete Field (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #46 Campbell - 293-298-291---882 (+18)
2. #150 UT Arlington - 300-295-291---886 (+22)
3. #138 Eastern Kentucky - 308-301-300---909 (+45)
4. #154 FGCU - 306-309-303---918 (+54)
5. #223 Lafayette - 312-302-306---920 (+56)
6. #184 Purdue Fort Wayne - 310-312-301---923 (+59)
7. #213 Saint Joseph's (PA) - 320-303-306---929 (+65)
8. #262 Robert Morris - 321-319-307---947 (+83)
9. #225 Creighton - 332-315-321---968 (+104)
About Me
FGCU WBB: Special Look at the Team
But as the Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball team gets ready to tip off a brand new season with eight new players, the question is: Are opponents in for a steady downpour or intermittent showers?
Head coach Karl Smesko — whose Eagles open the 2018-19 season Friday night at South Dakota State — will look to his six returning players, particularly juniors Tytionia Adderly and Nasrin Ulel and redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka, to help the newcomers.
“They know what’s going on,” said Smesko, who lost five players from the 2017-18 squad that went 31-5 (including 13-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference), reached the second round of the NCAA tournament and set a Division I single-season record for most 3-pointers in a season (431). “Lisa, Nas and Ty all played a lot last year, so our new players are looking to them and saying, ‘Hey, do we do things here?’ And they need to be somebody that helps connect a message from the coach to the team and help their fellow teammates pick things up so that practice goes the way it’s supposed to.”
Having lost five players to graduation from last year’s team (including a rare sixth-year senior in Taylor Grandijan), Smesko’s revamped roster includes five transfer players and three freshmen. Four of the transfers — redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills (Wagner College), redshirt juniors Davion Wingate (Stony Brook University) and Keri Jewett-Giles (University of Southern Mississippi) and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox (College of William & Mary) — sat out last season per the NCAA’s transfer rule and will be making their FGCU debuts.
“It’s good to have the whole team working together, and we had a chance to work together for the last couple of weeks,” said Smesko, who’s entering his 17th season as FGCU’s program-founding coach with a 435-87 record (including a 303-66 mark since FGCU became a Division I program in 2007). “We’re seeing a little bit of progress, which is encouraging. We still have a long way to go. We have a lot of new players and getting them up to speed on everything we do, it takes some time, but we’re working at it. We’re watching a lot of film, getting out on the floor and getting a lot of reps in and hopefully, we’re getting some progress in.”
FGCU, which finished last season ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, punched its ticket to the 2018 NCAA tournament after defeating Jacksonville for the A-SUN championship, its fifth in program history. Traveling to the West Coast for the Stanford Regional, the Eagles upset fifth-seeded Missouri in the first round before falling to fourth-seeded Stanford.
During the 2017-18 season, FGCU defeated three top 25 teams: DePaul (No. 21), Kentucky (No. 20) and Missouri (No. 17). The Eagles were also ranked No. 1 in both the CollegeInsider.com and ESPNW mid-major polls.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Tytionia Adderly, Jr., Forward: Averaging seven points and almost nine rebounds per game last season, Adderly is third all-time at FGCU in offensive boards with 237. The Jupiter product can pass Adrianne McNally (240) and possibly Sarah Hansen (329) in the program record book.
2. Lisa Zderadicka, Sr., Guard: Originally from Vienna, Austria, Zderadicka is the first two-year graduate transfer in FGCU women’s basketball history. After transferring from Houston Baptist, she played primarily off the bench last season and averaged 7.6 points and 1.2 steals per game.
3. Erna Normil, Jr., Guard/Forward: Normil has two years of eligibility remaining after spending her freshman and sophomore years at nearby Florida Southwestern State College. The Lake Worth product and two-time FSCAA first-team All-Southern Conference selection averaged 15 points and 6.1 rebounds a game at FSW.
4. Tanner Bryant, Fr., Guard/Forward: A native of Washington Court House, Ohio, Bryant had 1,256 career points at Miami Trace High School, where she earned 18 awards and recognitions. She led her team to three league championships, an undefeated league season, two sectional championships and one regional championship.
5. Destiny Washington, Sr., Guard/Forward: A grad student, Washington-Mabon comes to FGCU as a double transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. A native of Indianapolis, she spent her freshman year at Loyola-Chicago before transferring to Ball State for her redshirt sophomore and junior years. Washington-Mabon averaged 9.2 points per game at her previous stops.
FIVE GAMES TO WATCH
1. vs. Stanford (Nov. 23): FGCU gets a rematch against the Cardinal at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu. After beating FGCU, 90-70, to reach the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, the Cardinal were eliminated by Louisville to finish the season with a 24-11 record.
2. At Duke (Dec. 30): This will be the first matchup of a home and home series — FGCU will host Duke in 2019-20. The Blue Devils went 24-9 last season, losing to Connecticut in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16.
3. At South Dakota State (Nov. 9): The Eagles’ season-opening road date with the Jackrabbits will be the third time these two teams have met. (FGCU is 2-0, winning on Dec. 29, 2013, and on the same date last year.)
4. vs. Florida Memorial (Nov. 12): The Eagles open their home schedule against the Lions, an NAIA school that plays in The Sun Conference (which also includes Collier County-based Ave Maria University). The game will be dubbed as a season/exhibition game, meaning it will count as a season game for FGCU, but an exhibition for Florida Memorial. The Eagles have won all 10 of their previous meetings with the Lions.
5. vs. Liberty (Jan. 6): FGCU and the home crowd at Alico Arena welcome Liberty to the Atlantic Sun in the conference opener for both teams. The Flames, whose campus is in Lynchburg, Va., left the Big South Conference to join the ASUN.
FGCU’S FIVE KEYS TO VICTORY
1. Spread the floor.
2. Keep the tempo balanced (not too slow, but not too fast).
3. Communicate between plays.
4. Smart decisions (passes and shots).
5. Box Out.
Head coach Karl Smesko — whose Eagles open the 2018-19 season Friday night at South Dakota State — will look to his six returning players, particularly juniors Tytionia Adderly and Nasrin Ulel and redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka, to help the newcomers.
“They know what’s going on,” said Smesko, who lost five players from the 2017-18 squad that went 31-5 (including 13-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference), reached the second round of the NCAA tournament and set a Division I single-season record for most 3-pointers in a season (431). “Lisa, Nas and Ty all played a lot last year, so our new players are looking to them and saying, ‘Hey, do we do things here?’ And they need to be somebody that helps connect a message from the coach to the team and help their fellow teammates pick things up so that practice goes the way it’s supposed to.”
Having lost five players to graduation from last year’s team (including a rare sixth-year senior in Taylor Grandijan), Smesko’s revamped roster includes five transfer players and three freshmen. Four of the transfers — redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills (Wagner College), redshirt juniors Davion Wingate (Stony Brook University) and Keri Jewett-Giles (University of Southern Mississippi) and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox (College of William & Mary) — sat out last season per the NCAA’s transfer rule and will be making their FGCU debuts.
“It’s good to have the whole team working together, and we had a chance to work together for the last couple of weeks,” said Smesko, who’s entering his 17th season as FGCU’s program-founding coach with a 435-87 record (including a 303-66 mark since FGCU became a Division I program in 2007). “We’re seeing a little bit of progress, which is encouraging. We still have a long way to go. We have a lot of new players and getting them up to speed on everything we do, it takes some time, but we’re working at it. We’re watching a lot of film, getting out on the floor and getting a lot of reps in and hopefully, we’re getting some progress in.”
FGCU, which finished last season ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, punched its ticket to the 2018 NCAA tournament after defeating Jacksonville for the A-SUN championship, its fifth in program history. Traveling to the West Coast for the Stanford Regional, the Eagles upset fifth-seeded Missouri in the first round before falling to fourth-seeded Stanford.
During the 2017-18 season, FGCU defeated three top 25 teams: DePaul (No. 21), Kentucky (No. 20) and Missouri (No. 17). The Eagles were also ranked No. 1 in both the CollegeInsider.com and ESPNW mid-major polls.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Tytionia Adderly, Jr., Forward: Averaging seven points and almost nine rebounds per game last season, Adderly is third all-time at FGCU in offensive boards with 237. The Jupiter product can pass Adrianne McNally (240) and possibly Sarah Hansen (329) in the program record book.
2. Lisa Zderadicka, Sr., Guard: Originally from Vienna, Austria, Zderadicka is the first two-year graduate transfer in FGCU women’s basketball history. After transferring from Houston Baptist, she played primarily off the bench last season and averaged 7.6 points and 1.2 steals per game.
3. Erna Normil, Jr., Guard/Forward: Normil has two years of eligibility remaining after spending her freshman and sophomore years at nearby Florida Southwestern State College. The Lake Worth product and two-time FSCAA first-team All-Southern Conference selection averaged 15 points and 6.1 rebounds a game at FSW.
4. Tanner Bryant, Fr., Guard/Forward: A native of Washington Court House, Ohio, Bryant had 1,256 career points at Miami Trace High School, where she earned 18 awards and recognitions. She led her team to three league championships, an undefeated league season, two sectional championships and one regional championship.
5. Destiny Washington, Sr., Guard/Forward: A grad student, Washington-Mabon comes to FGCU as a double transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. A native of Indianapolis, she spent her freshman year at Loyola-Chicago before transferring to Ball State for her redshirt sophomore and junior years. Washington-Mabon averaged 9.2 points per game at her previous stops.
FIVE GAMES TO WATCH
1. vs. Stanford (Nov. 23): FGCU gets a rematch against the Cardinal at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu. After beating FGCU, 90-70, to reach the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, the Cardinal were eliminated by Louisville to finish the season with a 24-11 record.
2. At Duke (Dec. 30): This will be the first matchup of a home and home series — FGCU will host Duke in 2019-20. The Blue Devils went 24-9 last season, losing to Connecticut in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16.
3. At South Dakota State (Nov. 9): The Eagles’ season-opening road date with the Jackrabbits will be the third time these two teams have met. (FGCU is 2-0, winning on Dec. 29, 2013, and on the same date last year.)
4. vs. Florida Memorial (Nov. 12): The Eagles open their home schedule against the Lions, an NAIA school that plays in The Sun Conference (which also includes Collier County-based Ave Maria University). The game will be dubbed as a season/exhibition game, meaning it will count as a season game for FGCU, but an exhibition for Florida Memorial. The Eagles have won all 10 of their previous meetings with the Lions.
5. vs. Liberty (Jan. 6): FGCU and the home crowd at Alico Arena welcome Liberty to the Atlantic Sun in the conference opener for both teams. The Flames, whose campus is in Lynchburg, Va., left the Big South Conference to join the ASUN.
FGCU’S FIVE KEYS TO VICTORY
1. Spread the floor.
2. Keep the tempo balanced (not too slow, but not too fast).
3. Communicate between plays.
4. Smart decisions (passes and shots).
5. Box Out.
FGCU VB vs NJIT Recap
Wrapping up the final day of their five-match homestead, the FGCU volleyball team (20-6, 11-1 A-SUN) once again took their fourth conference series of the season as they shutout NJIT (4-23, 2-10 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-17). With the win, the Eagles are now 8-0 against the Highlanders.
Prior to the game, the FGCU volleyball program honored outstanding faculty and staff who have impacted the student-athletes on the team. Those recognized included: Kristine Tullo, Carol Sweeney, Kathy Peterson, Storm Blitz, Dr. Jiehong Liao, Dr. Mary Wisnom, Dr. Lewis Broslovsky, Paul Evans, Dr. Derrick Boucher, Dr. Ashley Kuhn, Matthew Neubek, Danny Mahy, Carly Jaskulski and Reid Lennertz.
NJIT head coach Peter Volkert was unable to travel with the team due to personal reasons, so assistant coaches Jabarry Goodridge and Ray Bello took over for the match.
Offensively, it was sophomore Cortney VanLiew (two blocks) that led the way for the Eagles. VanLiew finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 10 digs while adding an assist and an ace. For the Seymour native has 662 career kills. In fact, VanLiew passed Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 11th all-time in career kills.
"Cortney was really good, especially at the end," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "She was making some good decisions. She was relying a little bit too much on the scouting report in the first set instead of allowing her athleticism to take over. I think she loosened up a little and just let herself play as we got into sets two and three, so that was nice to see."
"We definitely passed really well as a team and played really good defense, which was exciting to watch," said VanLiew.
Senior Maggie Rick would finish with 23 assists, two kills and five digs. With her 23 assists, Rick now has 4,324 in her career, and is now 85 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists.
Freshman Chelsea Lockey would follow Rick in double-digit assists as she finished with 10 assists and one ace.
Sophomore Snowy Burnam (two blocks) finished with six kills and 13 digs.
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (seniors Sharonda Pickering and Kaiti Krivdo, juniors Giogio Borgiotti and Dani Serrano, Burnam and VanLiew and freshman Tori Morris) played their role profoundly.
Axner would finish with a team-high 15 digs, two aces and an assist. Axner now has 438 dig as she passed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat's 2005 season record (429) for 11th all-time. The Dublin, Ohio native is now 21 away from passing Holly Youngquist's 2009 season record (459, 10th all-time).
Along with VanLiew's 15 kills, the Block Party had a combined 37 kills and 14 blocks with Morris leading the way with four blocks with five kills.
"I think this year especially, I really upped my game in servicing and in blocking," said VanLiew on her overall season performance. "I was really hoping this summer I would work really hard to improve that game."
Pickering (one block) and Borgiotti (two blocks) had four kills each while Krivdo added a block.
Serrano (two blocks) would add three kills of her own, putting her at 551 kills in her career.
With her two block assists, Serrano now has 269 and is 12 shy of passing Olivia Mesner (280, 2011-14) as the all-time leader.
In total blocks, Serrano now has 317 and is 26 shy of passing Mesner (342) as the all-time leader in that category.
For the other matches in the A-SUN, Kennesaw State (20-5, 11-1 A-SUN) played Stetson (13-10, 5-6 A-SUN) at home and suffered their first loss in conference play as the Lady Hatters upset and shutout the Owls 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23) on Saturday.
Lipscomb (15-9, 10-2 A-SUN) defeated UNF (9-20, 4-9 A-SUN) 3-1 on Saturday and Liberty (13-13, 9-3 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama 3-0 (2-19, 0-12 A-SUN) at the same time as FGCU.
A-SUN Standings as of 10/28:
1. Kennesaw State (20-5, 11-1)
2. FGCU (20-6, 11-1)
3. Lipscomb (15-9, 10-2)
4. Liberty (13-13, 9-3)
5. Stetson (12-10, 4-6)
6. North Florida (9-19, 4-8)
7. NJIT (4-22, 2-9)
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. North Alabama (2-19, 0-12)
Up Next:
The Eagles head on the road for their final three conference road trips as they travel to face Lipscomb on Friday, November 2 at 7 P.M., Kennesaw on Sunday, November 4 at 2 P.M. and Stetson on Tuesday, November 6 at 6 P.M.
"I think we just need to come out with the mentality that we can do it, and if we work hard together, we can come out on top,
Prior to the game, the FGCU volleyball program honored outstanding faculty and staff who have impacted the student-athletes on the team. Those recognized included: Kristine Tullo, Carol Sweeney, Kathy Peterson, Storm Blitz, Dr. Jiehong Liao, Dr. Mary Wisnom, Dr. Lewis Broslovsky, Paul Evans, Dr. Derrick Boucher, Dr. Ashley Kuhn, Matthew Neubek, Danny Mahy, Carly Jaskulski and Reid Lennertz.
NJIT head coach Peter Volkert was unable to travel with the team due to personal reasons, so assistant coaches Jabarry Goodridge and Ray Bello took over for the match.
Offensively, it was sophomore Cortney VanLiew (two blocks) that led the way for the Eagles. VanLiew finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 10 digs while adding an assist and an ace. For the Seymour native has 662 career kills. In fact, VanLiew passed Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 11th all-time in career kills.
"Cortney was really good, especially at the end," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "She was making some good decisions. She was relying a little bit too much on the scouting report in the first set instead of allowing her athleticism to take over. I think she loosened up a little and just let herself play as we got into sets two and three, so that was nice to see."
"We definitely passed really well as a team and played really good defense, which was exciting to watch," said VanLiew.
Senior Maggie Rick would finish with 23 assists, two kills and five digs. With her 23 assists, Rick now has 4,324 in her career, and is now 85 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists.
Freshman Chelsea Lockey would follow Rick in double-digit assists as she finished with 10 assists and one ace.
Sophomore Snowy Burnam (two blocks) finished with six kills and 13 digs.
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (seniors Sharonda Pickering and Kaiti Krivdo, juniors Giogio Borgiotti and Dani Serrano, Burnam and VanLiew and freshman Tori Morris) played their role profoundly.
Axner would finish with a team-high 15 digs, two aces and an assist. Axner now has 438 dig as she passed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat's 2005 season record (429) for 11th all-time. The Dublin, Ohio native is now 21 away from passing Holly Youngquist's 2009 season record (459, 10th all-time).
Along with VanLiew's 15 kills, the Block Party had a combined 37 kills and 14 blocks with Morris leading the way with four blocks with five kills.
"I think this year especially, I really upped my game in servicing and in blocking," said VanLiew on her overall season performance. "I was really hoping this summer I would work really hard to improve that game."
Serrano (two blocks) would add three kills of her own, putting her at 551 kills in her career.
With her two block assists, Serrano now has 269 and is 12 shy of passing Olivia Mesner (280, 2011-14) as the all-time leader.
In total blocks, Serrano now has 317 and is 26 shy of passing Mesner (342) as the all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Alayna Ryan and senior Karissa Rhoades also contributed profoundly. Ryan had two digs while Rhoades had three aces and a dig. Rhoades now has 84 career aces and is now in the top 10 as she also battles with Rick (86).
In addition, Rhoades' one dig put her at 864 in her career. She is 138 away from becoming the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs. In fact, Rhoades is 21 digs shy of passing Heather Van Olst (884, 200-06) for eighth all-time.
"I think our team mentality and us working hard together as a group," said VanLiew on the team's overall season performance. "We really care about each other and we're all really close and I think that helps a lot."
For the Highlanders, no one reached double-digits in kills nor assists. Junior Madi Busler was the closest as she led the team with nine kills, one assist, two blocks and six digs.
In assists, freshman Marissa Soitsman had eight as far as the closest to double-digit assists.
Defensively, senior Adriana Nieto had 13 digs and two assists. Nieto was the only player to have double-digits in any category.
Senior Jovana Baosic and freshman Michaela Dungan had two blocks each.
In addition, Rhoades' one dig put her at 864 in her career. She is 138 away from becoming the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs. In fact, Rhoades is 21 digs shy of passing Heather Van Olst (884, 200-06) for eighth all-time.
"I think our team mentality and us working hard together as a group," said VanLiew on the team's overall season performance. "We really care about each other and we're all really close and I think that helps a lot."
For the Highlanders, no one reached double-digits in kills nor assists. Junior Madi Busler was the closest as she led the team with nine kills, one assist, two blocks and six digs.
In assists, freshman Marissa Soitsman had eight as far as the closest to double-digit assists.
Defensively, senior Adriana Nieto had 13 digs and two assists. Nieto was the only player to have double-digits in any category.
Senior Jovana Baosic and freshman Michaela Dungan had two blocks each.
Lipscomb (15-9, 10-2 A-SUN) defeated UNF (9-20, 4-9 A-SUN) 3-1 on Saturday and Liberty (13-13, 9-3 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama 3-0 (2-19, 0-12 A-SUN) at the same time as FGCU.
A-SUN Standings as of 10/28:
1. Kennesaw State (20-5, 11-1)
2. FGCU (20-6, 11-1)
3. Lipscomb (15-9, 10-2)
4. Liberty (13-13, 9-3)
5. Stetson (12-10, 4-6)
6. North Florida (9-19, 4-8)
7. NJIT (4-22, 2-9)
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. North Alabama (2-19, 0-12)
Up Next:
The Eagles head on the road for their final three conference road trips as they travel to face Lipscomb on Friday, November 2 at 7 P.M., Kennesaw on Sunday, November 4 at 2 P.M. and Stetson on Tuesday, November 6 at 6 P.M.
"I think we just need to come out with the mentality that we can do it, and if we work hard together, we can come out on top,
FGCU Tennis: Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open Day Three Recap
The FGCU tennis team wrapped up day three as they played only doubles to wrap up day three of the Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open at the Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Spring, Florida.
The men faced Memphis while the women faced UCF and USF.
The men pulled off three doubles win as juniors Pipe Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas defeated Oscar Cutting and David Stevenson 6-2, junior Marcelo Tebet and senior Ezequiel Cerrini
The men faced Memphis while the women faced UCF and USF.
The men pulled off three doubles win as juniors Pipe Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas defeated Oscar Cutting and David Stevenson 6-2, junior Marcelo Tebet and senior Ezequiel Cerrini
defeated Jan Pallares and Patrick Sydow 6-2, and senior Felipe Escobar and sophomore Juan Montes defeated Matt Story and Jeremy Taylor 6-3.
For the women, freshman Ariana Chan and senior Patri Villar defeated USF's Alexandria Mjos and Selin Yaylali 1-0.
Junior Sofia Perez and sophomore Madison Gallegos faced senior Julia Ascua and junior Maja Ornberg in a friendly match.
"From the competition side of things, I am really encouraged by my team's effort this weekend," head coach CJ Weber said. "We hosted some very stiff competition, and the guys handled themselves extremely well and we competed our best of the last day, which is always pleasing to see as a coach that we perform our best at the end of events. Marcelo (Tebet) had a great breakthrough event; and his only loss was against one of Memphis's top players. He, and all of the players, have been so open minded to grow and develop and learn new things about themselves. This is a special group of guys; and I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team has in store for the spring season!"
"From the competition side of things, I am really encouraged by my team's effort this weekend," head coach CJ Weber said. "We hosted some very stiff competition, and the guys handled themselves extremely well and we competed our best of the last day, which is always pleasing to see as a coach that we perform our best at the end of events. Marcelo (Tebet) had a great breakthrough event; and his only loss was against one of Memphis's top players. He, and all of the players, have been so open minded to grow and develop and learn new things about themselves. This is a special group of guys; and I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team has in store for the spring season!"
Both teams will wrap up the fall season with the Dick Vitale Invitational in Bradenton, Florida.
FGCU Tennis: Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open Day Two Recap
Going into day two of the Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open at the Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs, the FGCU men's and women's tennis teams wrapped up day two with a combined seven wins to wrap up the day.
For the men, they played Power 5 Illinois and Louisville while the women played Princeton.
For the men, the duo of juniors Felipe "Pipe" Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas defeated Illinois's Vuk Budic and Gui Gomes 6-4 in doubles play.
Going into singles, junior Marcelo Tebet defeated Gomes 6-3, 6-2, Sakalauskas defeated Louisville's Clement Filho 7-6, 6-0 and senior Javier Fernandez defeated Loisville's Alex Wesbrooks.
On the women's side, senior Julia Ascua defeated Grace Joyce 6-0, 6-4, sophomore Madison Gallegos defeated Nathalie Rodilosso 6-1, 6-2 and junior Bridget Forster defeated 5-7, 7-5, 10-8.
The Eagles wrap up day three as the men face Memphis while the women face UCF and USF.
For the men, they played Power 5 Illinois and Louisville while the women played Princeton.
For the men, the duo of juniors Felipe "Pipe" Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas defeated Illinois's Vuk Budic and Gui Gomes 6-4 in doubles play.
Going into singles, junior Marcelo Tebet defeated Gomes 6-3, 6-2, Sakalauskas defeated Louisville's Clement Filho 7-6, 6-0 and senior Javier Fernandez defeated Loisville's Alex Wesbrooks.
On the women's side, senior Julia Ascua defeated Grace Joyce 6-0, 6-4, sophomore Madison Gallegos defeated Nathalie Rodilosso 6-1, 6-2 and junior Bridget Forster defeated 5-7, 7-5, 10-8.
The Eagles wrap up day three as the men face Memphis while the women face UCF and USF.
FGCU M. Golf: Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic Opening Round Recap
Senior Andrew Potter is positioned in fifth place individually, while the FGCU men's golf team shot a 615 (+39) on Sunday to sit in fifth among nine teams through the first day of the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic at Old Corkscrew.
The Eagles are just one stroke behind Lafayette College and six strokes behind third-place Eastern Kentucky.
Potter improved his opening-round score by four strokes with an even-par 72. He is just three strokes off co-leaders Erik Lindwall (Eastern Kentucky) and Pontus Nyholm (Campbell).
"It was tough out there for us today," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "Fortunately, Andrew has been a steady presence for us, and he is in contention. As a team, a top-3 finish is very attainable, and I'm looking for us to bounce back in strong fashion on Monday."
Freshman Tate Heintzelma also improved from his opening round performance with a second-round 75. His 152 (+8) has him tied for 13th, while junior Brent Fredericksen and freshman Chase Bigham are both tied for 22nd with a 156 (+12).
Individual results:
T-5. Andrew Potter - 76-72---148 (+4)
T-13. Tate Heintzelman - 77-75---152 (+8)
T-22. Brent Fredericksen - 76-80---156 (+12)
T-33. Cole Castro - 77-82---159 (+15)
51. Doug Smith - 87-86---173 (+29)
Others competing as individuals:
T-22. Chase Bigham - 80-76---156 (+12)
T-39. Mark Iwinski Jr. - 81-81---162 (+18)
T-43. Luke Farmer - 78-85---163 (+19)
T-48. Remec Carlson - 85-82---167 (+23)
Complete Field (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #46 Campbell - 293-298---591 (+15)
2. #150 UT Arlington - 300-295---595 (+19)
3. #138 Eastern Kentucky - 308-301---609 (+33)
4. #223 Lafayette - 312-302---614 (+38)
5. #154 FGCU - 306-309---615 (+39)
6. #184 Purdue Fort Wayne - 310-312---622 (+46)
7. #213 Saint Joseph's (PA) - 320-303---623 (+47)
8. #262 Robert Morris - 321-319---640 (+64)
9. #225 Creighton - 332-315---647 (+71)
The Eagles are just one stroke behind Lafayette College and six strokes behind third-place Eastern Kentucky.
Potter improved his opening-round score by four strokes with an even-par 72. He is just three strokes off co-leaders Erik Lindwall (Eastern Kentucky) and Pontus Nyholm (Campbell).
"It was tough out there for us today," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "Fortunately, Andrew has been a steady presence for us, and he is in contention. As a team, a top-3 finish is very attainable, and I'm looking for us to bounce back in strong fashion on Monday."
Freshman Tate Heintzelma also improved from his opening round performance with a second-round 75. His 152 (+8) has him tied for 13th, while junior Brent Fredericksen and freshman Chase Bigham are both tied for 22nd with a 156 (+12).
Individual results:
T-5. Andrew Potter - 76-72---148 (+4)
T-13. Tate Heintzelman - 77-75---152 (+8)
T-22. Brent Fredericksen - 76-80---156 (+12)
T-33. Cole Castro - 77-82---159 (+15)
51. Doug Smith - 87-86---173 (+29)
Others competing as individuals:
T-22. Chase Bigham - 80-76---156 (+12)
T-39. Mark Iwinski Jr. - 81-81---162 (+18)
T-43. Luke Farmer - 78-85---163 (+19)
T-48. Remec Carlson - 85-82---167 (+23)
Complete Field (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #46 Campbell - 293-298---591 (+15)
2. #150 UT Arlington - 300-295---595 (+19)
3. #138 Eastern Kentucky - 308-301---609 (+33)
4. #223 Lafayette - 312-302---614 (+38)
5. #154 FGCU - 306-309---615 (+39)
6. #184 Purdue Fort Wayne - 310-312---622 (+46)
7. #213 Saint Joseph's (PA) - 320-303---623 (+47)
8. #262 Robert Morris - 321-319---640 (+64)
9. #225 Creighton - 332-315---647 (+71)
FGCU W. Soc vs Lipscomb: A-SUN Semifinals Recap
All good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for the FGCU Eagles (13-4-2) that came true on Sunday afternoon as they dropped their A-SUN Semifinal contest to Lipscomb (13-4-2) 1-0 to bring their 2018 season to an end.
"It was a difficult day and a tough way to have the season come to an end" head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I thought we played well and created plenty of opportunities, but credit to Lipscomb, they made the play when they needed to."
FGCU and Lipscomb met for the fourth straight season with the loser's season on the line Sunday. The Eagles came out ready to go, playing with the wind in the first half on a blustery day in Nashville. They put two shots on net in the first six minutes, quickly testing the A-SUN Goalkeeper of the Year Kate Mason for the Lady Bison.
The Eagles continued to attack, playing nearly the entire first 20 minutes in the Lipscomb end, but couldn't break through as the game remained scoreless at the midway point of the first half.
It was a stalemate from there into the half as neither team got a single shot off for the final 24 minutes of the period as they went to the break scoreless.
FGCU got off all five shots taken in the first half and took both corners given in the first 45 minutes.
Playing with the wind in the second half, Lipscomb finally showed some life as the second half got underway. The Lady Bison got their first shot off in the 48th minute and had their first real scoring chance in the 56th minute when junior Melissa Weck came up huge on a point blank chance from Lipscomb to keep it a 0-0 game.
The Green and Blue answered with a pair of shots of their own and drew a pair of corners in the 66th minute to put pressure on the Lady Bison.
The Eagles had a golden opportunity to net the go ahead goal in the 69th minute as junior Marjorie Boilesen put a strike on net, but Mason made a game saving stop to keep FGCU off the board.
Moments later the Eagles drew a corner and felt in control, but they never could have prepared for what was to come next. Off of the FGCU corner, Lipscomb got a clean clear, quickly turning into a break going the other way for the Lady Bison. A three on two quickly turned to a three on one as an Eagle defender unsuccessfully attempted to break up the run near midfield.
Things got worse as a second Eagle defender also whiffed on a breakup attempt and in the blink of an eye, Lipscomb had a trio of attackers running at Weck unmarked. Weck came out of the goal to try to cut off the angle and got a glove on the Lady Bison shot, but it trickled into the net after the contact to give Lipscomb a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute.
Playing with their backs to the wall, the Eagles pushed the pace into the win, getting three shots on goal in the next eight minutes, but again couldn't get any past the keeper as they continued to trail 1-0 with the clock closing in on the 10 minute mark.
The Green and Blue pressured twice in the final 10 minutes, but again couldn't break through and as the final horn sounded, it was Lipscomb celebrating a 1-0 win to end the Eagles season.
All numbers on the box score besides the goal count pointed towards a dominating performance by the Eagles. FGCU led shots 13-4, shots on goal 7-2, and corners 5-1, but it was Lipscomb's late goal that nullified all of those numbers.
FGCU sees their season come to an end at 13-4-2 as they failed to reach the A-SUN Finals for the first time in program history. All four of the Eagles losses in 2018 came in 1-0 contests. The loss also marks the Eagles first regulation loss in the A-SUN Tournament in program history.
Lipscomb improves to 13-4-2 with the win and with the combination of North Alabama's second straight upset win over NJIT, the Lady Bison punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament heading into the final.
"It was a difficult day and a tough way to have the season come to an end" head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I thought we played well and created plenty of opportunities, but credit to Lipscomb, they made the play when they needed to."
FGCU and Lipscomb met for the fourth straight season with the loser's season on the line Sunday. The Eagles came out ready to go, playing with the wind in the first half on a blustery day in Nashville. They put two shots on net in the first six minutes, quickly testing the A-SUN Goalkeeper of the Year Kate Mason for the Lady Bison.
The Eagles continued to attack, playing nearly the entire first 20 minutes in the Lipscomb end, but couldn't break through as the game remained scoreless at the midway point of the first half.
It was a stalemate from there into the half as neither team got a single shot off for the final 24 minutes of the period as they went to the break scoreless.
FGCU got off all five shots taken in the first half and took both corners given in the first 45 minutes.
Playing with the wind in the second half, Lipscomb finally showed some life as the second half got underway. The Lady Bison got their first shot off in the 48th minute and had their first real scoring chance in the 56th minute when junior Melissa Weck came up huge on a point blank chance from Lipscomb to keep it a 0-0 game.
The Green and Blue answered with a pair of shots of their own and drew a pair of corners in the 66th minute to put pressure on the Lady Bison.
The Eagles had a golden opportunity to net the go ahead goal in the 69th minute as junior Marjorie Boilesen put a strike on net, but Mason made a game saving stop to keep FGCU off the board.
Moments later the Eagles drew a corner and felt in control, but they never could have prepared for what was to come next. Off of the FGCU corner, Lipscomb got a clean clear, quickly turning into a break going the other way for the Lady Bison. A three on two quickly turned to a three on one as an Eagle defender unsuccessfully attempted to break up the run near midfield.
Things got worse as a second Eagle defender also whiffed on a breakup attempt and in the blink of an eye, Lipscomb had a trio of attackers running at Weck unmarked. Weck came out of the goal to try to cut off the angle and got a glove on the Lady Bison shot, but it trickled into the net after the contact to give Lipscomb a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute.
Playing with their backs to the wall, the Eagles pushed the pace into the win, getting three shots on goal in the next eight minutes, but again couldn't get any past the keeper as they continued to trail 1-0 with the clock closing in on the 10 minute mark.
The Green and Blue pressured twice in the final 10 minutes, but again couldn't break through and as the final horn sounded, it was Lipscomb celebrating a 1-0 win to end the Eagles season.
All numbers on the box score besides the goal count pointed towards a dominating performance by the Eagles. FGCU led shots 13-4, shots on goal 7-2, and corners 5-1, but it was Lipscomb's late goal that nullified all of those numbers.
FGCU sees their season come to an end at 13-4-2 as they failed to reach the A-SUN Finals for the first time in program history. All four of the Eagles losses in 2018 came in 1-0 contests. The loss also marks the Eagles first regulation loss in the A-SUN Tournament in program history.
Lipscomb improves to 13-4-2 with the win and with the combination of North Alabama's second straight upset win over NJIT, the Lady Bison punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament heading into the final.
FGCU M. Soc vs JU Recap
Wrapping up their final regular season, the FGCU men's soccer team (9-5-1, 5-1 A-SUN) pulled off a final victory as they defeated Jacksonville (4-11, 3-3 A-SUN) 4-1. With the win, the Eagles are now 10-3 against the Dolphins.
"First of all, we have the utmost respect for the JU program how they compete and play," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "So to come here, and concede early, the guys did a great job battling back to take the game back and re-establish our identity and dominate long stretches."
"I'm disappointed that we missed an opportunity to secure a first-round bye, but I'm very pleased with our performance. The result is the farthest indicative of how we played," stated head coach Mauricio Ruiz following the game. "It was a really good game against a really good Florida Gulf Coast team and we played toe to toe. When we pushed toward the end, we gave up two late goals but I'm really proud of the way the guys played. We're a really difficult team to beat, and right now we just have to find that range."
For starting goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos while Ruiz sent freshman Matt Levy to counter.
Not even two minutes in the first half, the Dolphins scored the first goal of the game as redshirt junior Igor Ferreira gave the Dolphins a 1-0 lead with an assist from senior Selemani Baruani. This was Ferreira's fourth goal and Baurani's second assist of the season.
23 minutes later, the Eagles would stop the Dolphins' lead as junior Shak Adams tied up the game at 1-1 with an assist from senior Raheem Somersall before the end of the first. This was Adam's eighth goal of the season and Somersall's first assist of the season.
Going into the second half, the Eagles went on a high scoring overdrive.
23 minutes into the second half, the Eagles would take the lead as senior Jason Van Achteren would rebound his own shot with an assist from Adams. This was Van Achteren's first goal of the season and first in an Eagle uniform since transferring from NCAA DII Embry-Riddle and Eastern New Mexico. In fact, it was This was the Belgian's first ever collegiate goal in his career.
For Adams, it was his eighth assist of the season.
The Onslaught of scoring from the Eagles continued with 10 minutes left as junior Miguel Perez would make it 3-1 FGCU after rebounding his own shot for his second goal of the season.
With 1:30 left on the clock, junior Ryan Medilah would seal the deal with his second goal of the season to make it 4-1 final for FGCU.
Vasconcelos would earn his ninth win after giving up the lone Dolphins goal, but finishing with two saves, and putting his overall record at 9-5-1.
"To also have three goals from guys coming off the bench made a huge difference in many ways with second-half performances from Van Achteren, Perez, Medilah and Chris Clement, combined with fantastic leadership from Gustavo, Preston, Jordan, and Kamar in the back. We have the recipe for success going into the playoffs next weekend."
Levy would end going 4-12 after the loss and finished with eight saves.
As a result of the win, the Eagles have won at least a share of the A-SUN Regular Season title for the first time since 2015. They will be listed as the #2 seed in the tournament.
With the loss to the Eagles, the Dolphins were officially the #4 seed in the A-SUN Conference tournament.
"Our conference is tight; it's anybody's game," added Ruiz. "We've been in this situation before where we've played the quarterfinal game and we know what's at stake. We're peaking at the right time and we're at our best right now so we're really comfortable facing anybody in the conference."
In the other A-SUN matchups, Lipscomb (7-9, 5-1 A-SUN) won their game against Stetson (6-9-1, 1-4-1 A-SUN) at home as they won 2-1. With the win, Lipscomb also won a share of the A-SUN Regular Season title.
UNF (4-10, 3-3 A-SUN) officially claimed the #3 seed in the A-SUN Conference tournament as they defeated NJIT 4-1.
So as it sits, the official bracket has been confirmed:
#1 Lipscomb
#2 FGCU (9-5-1, 5-1 A-SUN)
#3 UNF (4-10, 3-3 A-SUN)
#4 Jacksonville (4-11, 3-3 A-SUN)
#5 Liberty (7-6-1, 2-3-1 A-SUN)
#6 Stetson (6-9-1, 1-4-1 A-SUN)
With the loss to UNF, NJIT will not be competing the conference tournament this year and their season ends at 6-11 overall with a 1-5 record in the A-SUN.
Up Next:
The Eagles will await the winner between #3 UNF and #6 Stetson at the FGCU Soccer Complex
"First of all, we have the utmost respect for the JU program how they compete and play," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "So to come here, and concede early, the guys did a great job battling back to take the game back and re-establish our identity and dominate long stretches."
"I'm disappointed that we missed an opportunity to secure a first-round bye, but I'm very pleased with our performance. The result is the farthest indicative of how we played," stated head coach Mauricio Ruiz following the game. "It was a really good game against a really good Florida Gulf Coast team and we played toe to toe. When we pushed toward the end, we gave up two late goals but I'm really proud of the way the guys played. We're a really difficult team to beat, and right now we just have to find that range."
For starting goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos while Ruiz sent freshman Matt Levy to counter.
Not even two minutes in the first half, the Dolphins scored the first goal of the game as redshirt junior Igor Ferreira gave the Dolphins a 1-0 lead with an assist from senior Selemani Baruani. This was Ferreira's fourth goal and Baurani's second assist of the season.
23 minutes later, the Eagles would stop the Dolphins' lead as junior Shak Adams tied up the game at 1-1 with an assist from senior Raheem Somersall before the end of the first. This was Adam's eighth goal of the season and Somersall's first assist of the season.
Going into the second half, the Eagles went on a high scoring overdrive.
23 minutes into the second half, the Eagles would take the lead as senior Jason Van Achteren would rebound his own shot with an assist from Adams. This was Van Achteren's first goal of the season and first in an Eagle uniform since transferring from NCAA DII Embry-Riddle and Eastern New Mexico. In fact, it was This was the Belgian's first ever collegiate goal in his career.
For Adams, it was his eighth assist of the season.
The Onslaught of scoring from the Eagles continued with 10 minutes left as junior Miguel Perez would make it 3-1 FGCU after rebounding his own shot for his second goal of the season.
With 1:30 left on the clock, junior Ryan Medilah would seal the deal with his second goal of the season to make it 4-1 final for FGCU.
Vasconcelos would earn his ninth win after giving up the lone Dolphins goal, but finishing with two saves, and putting his overall record at 9-5-1.
"To also have three goals from guys coming off the bench made a huge difference in many ways with second-half performances from Van Achteren, Perez, Medilah and Chris Clement, combined with fantastic leadership from Gustavo, Preston, Jordan, and Kamar in the back. We have the recipe for success going into the playoffs next weekend."
Levy would end going 4-12 after the loss and finished with eight saves.
As a result of the win, the Eagles have won at least a share of the A-SUN Regular Season title for the first time since 2015. They will be listed as the #2 seed in the tournament.
With the loss to the Eagles, the Dolphins were officially the #4 seed in the A-SUN Conference tournament.
"Our conference is tight; it's anybody's game," added Ruiz. "We've been in this situation before where we've played the quarterfinal game and we know what's at stake. We're peaking at the right time and we're at our best right now so we're really comfortable facing anybody in the conference."
In the other A-SUN matchups, Lipscomb (7-9, 5-1 A-SUN) won their game against Stetson (6-9-1, 1-4-1 A-SUN) at home as they won 2-1. With the win, Lipscomb also won a share of the A-SUN Regular Season title.
UNF (4-10, 3-3 A-SUN) officially claimed the #3 seed in the A-SUN Conference tournament as they defeated NJIT 4-1.
So as it sits, the official bracket has been confirmed:
#1 Lipscomb
#2 FGCU (9-5-1, 5-1 A-SUN)
#3 UNF (4-10, 3-3 A-SUN)
#4 Jacksonville (4-11, 3-3 A-SUN)
#5 Liberty (7-6-1, 2-3-1 A-SUN)
#6 Stetson (6-9-1, 1-4-1 A-SUN)
With the loss to UNF, NJIT will not be competing the conference tournament this year and their season ends at 6-11 overall with a 1-5 record in the A-SUN.
Up Next:
The Eagles will await the winner between #3 UNF and #6 Stetson at the FGCU Soccer Complex
FGCU W. Soc vs Lipscomb: A-SUN Semifinals Preview
It will be a heavyweight battle Sunday afternoon in the Music City as the 2017 A-SUN Champion FGCU Eagles take on take on the 2018 Champion Lipscomb Lady Bisons with a trip to the tournament championship game on the line.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles enter their semifinal matchup with the Lady Bison off of an intense quarterfinal contest against Liberty full of twists and turns.
FGCU controlled the action for the first 80 minutes Friday night, getting a goal from junior Evdokia Popadinova in the 28th minute, her A-SUN leading 14th, followed by an early second half tally from sophomore Cassidy Morgan to take a 2-0 lead.
On the defensive end they held Liberty without a single shot for nearly 50 minutes through the middle of the game, suffocating the Lady Flames any time they attempted to move into the attacking third.
Liberty finally got a shot off in the 73rd minute and it was easily their best chance to that point of the night, but the shot rang off the right post to keep the Eagles in front 2-0. With their season on the line, Liberty went into fight or flight mode, attacking the Eagles and finally breaking through with a goal in the 83rd minute to make it 2-1. The Lady Flames continued to come at FGCU late, working the ball onto the doorstep of the Eagle net in the closing seconds, but the defense of the Green and Blue held strong, hanging on to the final horn to come away with the 2-1 win.
Scouting the Lady Bison:
Lipscomb captured their first outright A-SUN Conference Championship this season by going 7-1-0 in league action. The Lady Bison took it down to the wire, scoring an overtime goal in their season finale against Kennesaw to break a scoreless tie and take home the title to Nashville.
The Lady Bison feature a host of talent, including the top three superlative winners in the A-SUN this season in Player of the Year Olivia Doak, Goalkeeper of the Year Kate Mason, and Defensive Player of the Year Logan McFadden.
Statistically, Lipscomb finished right behind FGCU in nearly every major team category in the A-SUN including goals (39), assists (33), and goals allowed (14) on the year.
What's at Stake:
The winner of the semifinal will go on to the A-SUN Championship game.
Lipscomb is listed as the #1 seed, while FGCU is listed as #4.
On the other side in Newark, NJIT, who is listed as the #2 seed, will face #6 seed North Alabama, who defeated #3 seed Kennesaw 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
If FGCU and North Alabama win, the championship will be held at the FGCU Soccer Complex in Ft Myers, but if FGCU faces NJIT, the championship will remain in Newark since the Highlanders would be the highest seed in the tournament
This is UNA's first time in the A-SUN Tournament for women's soccer, and if they win the tournament, it doesn't really means anything. I mean if they win the tournament, then that's great for their program, but since this is their first year in NCAA DI after transitioning from the NCAA DII Gulf South Conference, they will not be eligible to go to the NCAA National Women's Soccer Tournament due to the four-year transitional period, and instead the regular season champion will be going to the national tournament.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles enter their semifinal matchup with the Lady Bison off of an intense quarterfinal contest against Liberty full of twists and turns.
FGCU controlled the action for the first 80 minutes Friday night, getting a goal from junior Evdokia Popadinova in the 28th minute, her A-SUN leading 14th, followed by an early second half tally from sophomore Cassidy Morgan to take a 2-0 lead.
On the defensive end they held Liberty without a single shot for nearly 50 minutes through the middle of the game, suffocating the Lady Flames any time they attempted to move into the attacking third.
Liberty finally got a shot off in the 73rd minute and it was easily their best chance to that point of the night, but the shot rang off the right post to keep the Eagles in front 2-0. With their season on the line, Liberty went into fight or flight mode, attacking the Eagles and finally breaking through with a goal in the 83rd minute to make it 2-1. The Lady Flames continued to come at FGCU late, working the ball onto the doorstep of the Eagle net in the closing seconds, but the defense of the Green and Blue held strong, hanging on to the final horn to come away with the 2-1 win.
Scouting the Lady Bison:
Lipscomb captured their first outright A-SUN Conference Championship this season by going 7-1-0 in league action. The Lady Bison took it down to the wire, scoring an overtime goal in their season finale against Kennesaw to break a scoreless tie and take home the title to Nashville.
The Lady Bison feature a host of talent, including the top three superlative winners in the A-SUN this season in Player of the Year Olivia Doak, Goalkeeper of the Year Kate Mason, and Defensive Player of the Year Logan McFadden.
Statistically, Lipscomb finished right behind FGCU in nearly every major team category in the A-SUN including goals (39), assists (33), and goals allowed (14) on the year.
What's at Stake:
The winner of the semifinal will go on to the A-SUN Championship game.
Lipscomb is listed as the #1 seed, while FGCU is listed as #4.
On the other side in Newark, NJIT, who is listed as the #2 seed, will face #6 seed North Alabama, who defeated #3 seed Kennesaw 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
If FGCU and North Alabama win, the championship will be held at the FGCU Soccer Complex in Ft Myers, but if FGCU faces NJIT, the championship will remain in Newark since the Highlanders would be the highest seed in the tournament
This is UNA's first time in the A-SUN Tournament for women's soccer, and if they win the tournament, it doesn't really means anything. I mean if they win the tournament, then that's great for their program, but since this is their first year in NCAA DI after transitioning from the NCAA DII Gulf South Conference, they will not be eligible to go to the NCAA National Women's Soccer Tournament due to the four-year transitional period, and instead the regular season champion will be going to the national tournament.
How to Keep Up:
Both games will have livestats available and will air on Facebook Live on the Lipscomb women's soccer Facebook page.
Fans can also keep up with the teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WSoccer
Lipscomb: @LipscombWSOC
Livestats link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=235019
Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/LipscombWomensSoccer/
FGCU: @FGCU_WSoccer
Lipscomb: @LipscombWSOC
Livestats link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=235019
Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/LipscombWomensSoccer/
FGCU M. Golf: Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic Preview
The FGCU men's golf team will host the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic on Sunday and Monday at Old Corkscrew Golf Club to conclude the fall season.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of an 8th place finish at the Pinetree Intercollegiate, hosted by Kennesaw.
"The team is ready to compete and have the home course advantage," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "I feel confident, and they do, too. We have some individuals on our roster who will help prove our depth on the team is strong."
The two-day, three-round event will begin with 36 holes at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and conclude with 18 more on Monday starting at 8 a.m. Live stats will be available through Golf Genius, and we'll post results each day at FGCUathletics.com.
Golf Genius is a mobile app that can also be viewed via your desktop. The direct link to the event can be found here, and the password to view the scoring is JQEXRH.
Booker will be utilizing the following lineup beginning Sunday:
1. Andrew Potter
2. Tate Heintzelman
3. Cole Castro
4. Doug Smith
5. Brent Fredericksen
The following individuals will also compete:
Chase Bigham
Remec Carlson
Luke Farmer
Mark Iwinski Jr.
Complete Field (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
46 - Campbell
138 - Eastern Kentucky
150 - UT Arlington
154 - FGCU
184 - Purdue Fort Wayne
213 - Saint Joseph's (PA)
223 - Lafayette
225 - Creighton
262 - Robert Morris
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of an 8th place finish at the Pinetree Intercollegiate, hosted by Kennesaw.
"The team is ready to compete and have the home course advantage," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "I feel confident, and they do, too. We have some individuals on our roster who will help prove our depth on the team is strong."
The two-day, three-round event will begin with 36 holes at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and conclude with 18 more on Monday starting at 8 a.m. Live stats will be available through Golf Genius, and we'll post results each day at FGCUathletics.com.
Golf Genius is a mobile app that can also be viewed via your desktop. The direct link to the event can be found here, and the password to view the scoring is JQEXRH.
Booker will be utilizing the following lineup beginning Sunday:
1. Andrew Potter
2. Tate Heintzelman
3. Cole Castro
4. Doug Smith
5. Brent Fredericksen
The following individuals will also compete:
Chase Bigham
Remec Carlson
Luke Farmer
Mark Iwinski Jr.
Complete Field (Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
46 - Campbell
138 - Eastern Kentucky
150 - UT Arlington
154 - FGCU
184 - Purdue Fort Wayne
213 - Saint Joseph's (PA)
223 - Lafayette
225 - Creighton
262 - Robert Morris
FGCU Tennis: Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open Day One Recap
The FGCU men's and women's tennis teams began with a bit of a struggle on both ends, but did manage to pick up a few wins in the Finemark FGCU Collegiate Open at the Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs, Florida.
For the men's team, they faced Power 5 teams Arkansas and Kentucky. The Eagles managed to win all four doubles matches.
Going into singles, sophomore Juan Montes and junior Marcelo Tebet picked up wins. Montes defeated Arkansas's Adam Sanjuro 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 while Tebet defeated Kentucky's Parth Aggarwal 6-4, 6-3.
On the women's side, the Eagles faced Power 5 Purdue.
In doubles, the Eagles picked up two wins as the duo of junior Maja Ornberg and senior Julia Ascua defeated Silvia Ambrosio and Caitlin Calkins 6-1 while juniors Sara Kelly and Bridget Forster defeated Seira Shimiz and Zala Dovnik 7-6.
In singles, the Eagles picked up three singles wins as Ascua defeated Shimiz 6-2, 7-5, Forster defeated Calkins 6-2, 6-4, and senior Patricia "Patri" Villar defeated Dovnik 6-2, 6-1.
The Eagles will continue on for day two as the men will face Power 5 Illinois and Louisville while the women play Princeton.
For the men's team, they faced Power 5 teams Arkansas and Kentucky. The Eagles managed to win all four doubles matches.
Going into singles, sophomore Juan Montes and junior Marcelo Tebet picked up wins. Montes defeated Arkansas's Adam Sanjuro 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 while Tebet defeated Kentucky's Parth Aggarwal 6-4, 6-3.
On the women's side, the Eagles faced Power 5 Purdue.
In doubles, the Eagles picked up two wins as the duo of junior Maja Ornberg and senior Julia Ascua defeated Silvia Ambrosio and Caitlin Calkins 6-1 while juniors Sara Kelly and Bridget Forster defeated Seira Shimiz and Zala Dovnik 7-6.
In singles, the Eagles picked up three singles wins as Ascua defeated Shimiz 6-2, 7-5, Forster defeated Calkins 6-2, 6-4, and senior Patricia "Patri" Villar defeated Dovnik 6-2, 6-1.
The Eagles will continue on for day two as the men will face Power 5 Illinois and Louisville while the women play Princeton.
FGCU W. Soc vs Liberty: A-SUN QF Recap
After dealing with several moment of being targeted on the legs, shoved, elbowed and pulled by their hair, the FGCU women's soccer team (13-3-2), who entered as the #4 seed, fought tooth and nail to the end of the game and defeated #5 seed Liberty (6-11) 2-1 in the A-SUN Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. With the win, the Eagles not only are 4-0 against the Lady Flames, but have now advanced to the semifinals of the A-SUN Conference Tournament.
"I am proud our ladies and how well they handled the pressure at the end of the game to live to play another day" head coach Jim Blankenship said. "Melissa (Weck) made a big save late and the defense held up for us again."
"I am so proud of our girls because they left everything on the field," said head coach Lang Wedemeyer. "We had our chances, hitting the post and scoring to get our energy back but we came up just short and that is the cruelty of the game. We struggled at times throughout the season but they always stayed positive and worked hard. "
"To lose the first two games of conference and to fight back and up at this position and battle like they did today I couldn't be more proud."
Blakenship sent junior A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member Melissa Weck to the box while Wedemeyer sent sophomore Melody Jayroe to counter.
12 minutes into the first half, Weck would get a clutch save after a shot attempt from senior A-SUN All-Academic Team member Caroline Boone, but soon after, the Yorba Linda, California native suffered an injury after a collision in the box. Blakenship decided to pull her out and send freshman Stephanie Starr between the posts, but three minutes later, Weck would return in good spirits. Starr would finish after 3:38, but it was her first taste of A-SUN postseason play.
27 minutes in, after a few Liberty fouls (no surprise) and an offside call on FGCU, the A-SUN Legion of Doom, junior A-SUN First Team All-Conference members Marjorie "Ma" Boilesen and Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova gave the Eagles the lead. Boilesen would send a through ball to Popadinova for a clear shot to the bottom right corner, giving FGCU a 1-0 lead before the end of the first half. This was Popadinova's 14th goal of the season. With her 14th goal, Popadinova tied A-SUN all-time goal leader Tabby Tindell's 2016 season record for fourth all-time in a single season. The Bulgarian could pass Tindell's '16 season and tied her 2013 season (15) with a goal.
For Boilesen, it was her ninth assist of the season.
12 minutes into the second half, after Liberty committed their seventh foul of the match, the Eagles would extend the lead with a goal from sophomore Cassidy Morgan with an assist from senior Camille Knudstrup. For Morgan, it was her third goal of the season while it was Knudstrup's fourth assist of the season.
The Lady Flames continued to be too aggressive on the Eagles with several fouls, yet no yellow or red card was called on them. It made me really mad from the terrible officiating that occurred. Clearly, there were fouls that Liberty made that could easily be a yellow card, but the refs blew every single one of them until the end.
With 10 minutes left, the Lady Flames would finally get on the board as sophomore A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member Cora Duininck would score her first career goal of the season.
After two FGCU fouls, it all came down to the last 15 seconds for the Lady Flames for one chance to send the match into overtime. As the free kick occurred, freshman Kasey Jamieson attempted the shot to send it to OT, but with stunning Eagle defense, the ball went over the net, thus ending the game.
Weck earned her 13th win of the season and finished with two saves, putting her record at 13-3-2.
Jayroe was dubbed with her eighth loss of the season finishing with three saves.
With the loss, Liberty is eliminated from the tournament, thus ended their season at 6-11 overall with a 5-3 record in conference.
The Eagles will face #1 seed Lipscomb in the semifinals. Lipscomb earned a first-round bye and awaited the winner between FGCU and Liberty.
Meanwhile in Newark, #2 seed NJIT, who also had a first-round bye, were awaiting the winner between #3 seed Kennesaw and #6 seed North Alabama, and the final result came in: NJIT will be facing #6 seed North Alabama in the semifinals.
The Lions clawed the Owls 2-1 after goals from A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Anna Bove and senior Kylie Huey.
So now the semifinals are set in stone, #1 Lipscomb will face #4 FGCU while #2 NJIT face #6 North Alabama.
Up Next:
The Eagles play Lipscomb on Sunday at 2 P.M. The winner will go on to the A-SUN Championship finals.
If FGCU wins, they will await the winner between North Alabama and NJIT in the other semifinals.
Should NJIT and FGCU win, the finals will be held in Newark since NJIT is the higher seed, but should FGCU face North Alabama, which I hope will happen, the finals will be held at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
"I am proud our ladies and how well they handled the pressure at the end of the game to live to play another day" head coach Jim Blankenship said. "Melissa (Weck) made a big save late and the defense held up for us again."
"I am so proud of our girls because they left everything on the field," said head coach Lang Wedemeyer. "We had our chances, hitting the post and scoring to get our energy back but we came up just short and that is the cruelty of the game. We struggled at times throughout the season but they always stayed positive and worked hard. "
"To lose the first two games of conference and to fight back and up at this position and battle like they did today I couldn't be more proud."
Blakenship sent junior A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member Melissa Weck to the box while Wedemeyer sent sophomore Melody Jayroe to counter.
12 minutes into the first half, Weck would get a clutch save after a shot attempt from senior A-SUN All-Academic Team member Caroline Boone, but soon after, the Yorba Linda, California native suffered an injury after a collision in the box. Blakenship decided to pull her out and send freshman Stephanie Starr between the posts, but three minutes later, Weck would return in good spirits. Starr would finish after 3:38, but it was her first taste of A-SUN postseason play.
27 minutes in, after a few Liberty fouls (no surprise) and an offside call on FGCU, the A-SUN Legion of Doom, junior A-SUN First Team All-Conference members Marjorie "Ma" Boilesen and Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova gave the Eagles the lead. Boilesen would send a through ball to Popadinova for a clear shot to the bottom right corner, giving FGCU a 1-0 lead before the end of the first half. This was Popadinova's 14th goal of the season. With her 14th goal, Popadinova tied A-SUN all-time goal leader Tabby Tindell's 2016 season record for fourth all-time in a single season. The Bulgarian could pass Tindell's '16 season and tied her 2013 season (15) with a goal.
For Boilesen, it was her ninth assist of the season.
12 minutes into the second half, after Liberty committed their seventh foul of the match, the Eagles would extend the lead with a goal from sophomore Cassidy Morgan with an assist from senior Camille Knudstrup. For Morgan, it was her third goal of the season while it was Knudstrup's fourth assist of the season.
The Lady Flames continued to be too aggressive on the Eagles with several fouls, yet no yellow or red card was called on them. It made me really mad from the terrible officiating that occurred. Clearly, there were fouls that Liberty made that could easily be a yellow card, but the refs blew every single one of them until the end.
With 10 minutes left, the Lady Flames would finally get on the board as sophomore A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member Cora Duininck would score her first career goal of the season.
After two FGCU fouls, it all came down to the last 15 seconds for the Lady Flames for one chance to send the match into overtime. As the free kick occurred, freshman Kasey Jamieson attempted the shot to send it to OT, but with stunning Eagle defense, the ball went over the net, thus ending the game.
Weck earned her 13th win of the season and finished with two saves, putting her record at 13-3-2.
Jayroe was dubbed with her eighth loss of the season finishing with three saves.
With the loss, Liberty is eliminated from the tournament, thus ended their season at 6-11 overall with a 5-3 record in conference.
The Eagles will face #1 seed Lipscomb in the semifinals. Lipscomb earned a first-round bye and awaited the winner between FGCU and Liberty.
Meanwhile in Newark, #2 seed NJIT, who also had a first-round bye, were awaiting the winner between #3 seed Kennesaw and #6 seed North Alabama, and the final result came in: NJIT will be facing #6 seed North Alabama in the semifinals.
The Lions clawed the Owls 2-1 after goals from A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Anna Bove and senior Kylie Huey.
So now the semifinals are set in stone, #1 Lipscomb will face #4 FGCU while #2 NJIT face #6 North Alabama.
Up Next:
The Eagles play Lipscomb on Sunday at 2 P.M. The winner will go on to the A-SUN Championship finals.
If FGCU wins, they will await the winner between North Alabama and NJIT in the other semifinals.
Should NJIT and FGCU win, the finals will be held in Newark since NJIT is the higher seed, but should FGCU face North Alabama, which I hope will happen, the finals will be held at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
FGCU VB vs North Alabama Recap
In a profound wave of pink from the pinkout in the Alico Arena, the FGCU volleyball team (19-6, 10-1 A-SUN) secured their third series sweep of the season as they shutout North Alabama (2-18, 0-11 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-17). With the win, the Eagles are now 2-0 against the Lions.
"I was really happy with the way we served the ball and with our serve receive," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "It's something we emphasized going into this. It really helped jump start the defensive side of the ball, where I thought we were really good."
The Eagles held the Lions in single digits in at least one set for the third time this season.
Offensively, it was once against sophomore Snowy Burnam that brought Dairy Queen on the offensive front. Burnam finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs along with two assists.
Not too far behind offensively were senior Sharonda Pickering and sophomore Cortney VanLiew. Pickering finished with nine kills and three digs while VanLiew finished with eight kills, 12 digs and an ace. With her eight kills, VanLiew now has 647 career kills.
Junior Dani Serrano and freshman Tori Morris were also not too far on the offensive side. Serrano finished with seven kills and a dig while Morris finished with six kills. Serrano's seven kills put her at 548 in her career.
Senior Maggie Rick would add a kill and five digs to go with her 26 assists. Rick's 26 assists put her at 4,301 career assists and she is now 108 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists.
"I thought we played really well as a team together," said Rick. "I think consistency is something we been lacking in past matches. We've been really up and down on how we were playing, but I think today, at least in the first two and a half sets, we played really consistently and everyone played really well through the whole match."
Freshman Chelsea Lockey also finished in double-digit assists (16) along with four digs.
"I think our service passing was really good throughout the whole match, and so it made it really easy for me and Chelsea on the offense, and so everything looked really clean and put together," said Rick.
Although she only played one set, senior Kaiti Krivdo had four kills while junior Giogio Borgiotti added three kills and a dig in all three sets.
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (Pickering, Krivdo, Borgiotti, Serrano, Burnam and Morris) played in phenomenal fashion.
Axner finished with 14 digs and an ace. This was her 13th straight match with at least 10 digs. In addition, Axner now has 423 total digs. In addition, the Dublin, Ohio native passed Whitney Masters' (421, 2012 season) for 12th all-time for most digs in a single season, and is seven away from passing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat's 2005 season record (429) for 11th all-time.
The Block Party finished with a combined 13 total blocks (three solo) with Pickering, Serrano and Burnam finished with three each. Two of Burnam's blocks were solo blocks.
With Serrano's three total blocks, she has moved up a few notches. For solo blocks, she now has 48 and is four away from passing Ericka Fonseca (51, 2005-06) for second all-time. For block assists, Serrano has 267 in her career and is 14 shy of passing Olivia Mesner (280, 2011-14) as the all-time leader. Lastly, in total blocks, the Sanford native now has 315 and is 28 shy of passing Mesner (342) as the all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Alayna Ryan and senior Karissa Rhoades also contributed profoundly. Ryan had two digs while Rhoades had three aces and two digs. Rhoades now has 81 career aces and is now in the top 10 as she also battles with Rick (86). In addition, Rhoades' two digs put her at 863 in her career. She is 138 away from becoming the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs. In fact, Rhoades is 22 digs shy of passing Heather Van Olst (884, 200-06) for eighth all-time.
The Lions were held to single digits in kills. The closest to double-digit kills were sophomore Christina Ellwanger and senior Malaisia Stallworth. Ellwanger had seven kills and six digs while Stallworth had five kills and two blocks.
Senior Jayden Davila-McClary had 15 assists, one kill and eight digs, while junior Genesis BenÃtez had 16 digs and two assists. Davila-McClary and BenÃtez had the only stats in double digits.
The Lions had 20 attack errors compared to the Eagles' seven.
In other A-SUN matches, Kennesaw defeated UNF 3-0, Liberty defeated NJIT 3-0, and Lipscomb defeated Stetson 3-0. With their wins, Liberty and Lipscomb joined Kennesaw and FGCU and clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship.
The Eagles remain in second place in conference behind Kennesaw
A-SUN Standings as of 10/26:
1. Kennesaw State (20-4, 11-0)
2. FGCU (19-6, 10-1)
3. Lipscomb (14-9, 9-2)
4. Liberty (12-13, 8-3)
5. Stetson (12-10, 4-6)
6. North Florida (9-19, 4-8)
7. NJIT (4-22, 2-9)
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. North Alabama (2-18, 0-11)
Up Next:
The Eagles wrap up their five-match homestead at the Alico Arena as they battle NJIT on Sunday, October 28 at 2 P.M. The Eagles have faced NJIT earlier in the season in a 3-0 shutout for Botsford's 99th career win.
"I was really happy with the way we served the ball and with our serve receive," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "It's something we emphasized going into this. It really helped jump start the defensive side of the ball, where I thought we were really good."
The Eagles held the Lions in single digits in at least one set for the third time this season.
Offensively, it was once against sophomore Snowy Burnam that brought Dairy Queen on the offensive front. Burnam finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs along with two assists.
Not too far behind offensively were senior Sharonda Pickering and sophomore Cortney VanLiew. Pickering finished with nine kills and three digs while VanLiew finished with eight kills, 12 digs and an ace. With her eight kills, VanLiew now has 647 career kills.
Junior Dani Serrano and freshman Tori Morris were also not too far on the offensive side. Serrano finished with seven kills and a dig while Morris finished with six kills. Serrano's seven kills put her at 548 in her career.
Senior Maggie Rick would add a kill and five digs to go with her 26 assists. Rick's 26 assists put her at 4,301 career assists and she is now 108 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists.
"I thought we played really well as a team together," said Rick. "I think consistency is something we been lacking in past matches. We've been really up and down on how we were playing, but I think today, at least in the first two and a half sets, we played really consistently and everyone played really well through the whole match."
Freshman Chelsea Lockey also finished in double-digit assists (16) along with four digs.
"I think our service passing was really good throughout the whole match, and so it made it really easy for me and Chelsea on the offense, and so everything looked really clean and put together," said Rick.
Although she only played one set, senior Kaiti Krivdo had four kills while junior Giogio Borgiotti added three kills and a dig in all three sets.
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (Pickering, Krivdo, Borgiotti, Serrano, Burnam and Morris) played in phenomenal fashion.
Axner finished with 14 digs and an ace. This was her 13th straight match with at least 10 digs. In addition, Axner now has 423 total digs. In addition, the Dublin, Ohio native passed Whitney Masters' (421, 2012 season) for 12th all-time for most digs in a single season, and is seven away from passing Brooke Youngquist-Sweat's 2005 season record (429) for 11th all-time.
The Block Party finished with a combined 13 total blocks (three solo) with Pickering, Serrano and Burnam finished with three each. Two of Burnam's blocks were solo blocks.
With Serrano's three total blocks, she has moved up a few notches. For solo blocks, she now has 48 and is four away from passing Ericka Fonseca (51, 2005-06) for second all-time. For block assists, Serrano has 267 in her career and is 14 shy of passing Olivia Mesner (280, 2011-14) as the all-time leader. Lastly, in total blocks, the Sanford native now has 315 and is 28 shy of passing Mesner (342) as the all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Alayna Ryan and senior Karissa Rhoades also contributed profoundly. Ryan had two digs while Rhoades had three aces and two digs. Rhoades now has 81 career aces and is now in the top 10 as she also battles with Rick (86). In addition, Rhoades' two digs put her at 863 in her career. She is 138 away from becoming the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs. In fact, Rhoades is 22 digs shy of passing Heather Van Olst (884, 200-06) for eighth all-time.
The Lions were held to single digits in kills. The closest to double-digit kills were sophomore Christina Ellwanger and senior Malaisia Stallworth. Ellwanger had seven kills and six digs while Stallworth had five kills and two blocks.
Senior Jayden Davila-McClary had 15 assists, one kill and eight digs, while junior Genesis BenÃtez had 16 digs and two assists. Davila-McClary and BenÃtez had the only stats in double digits.
The Lions had 20 attack errors compared to the Eagles' seven.
In other A-SUN matches, Kennesaw defeated UNF 3-0, Liberty defeated NJIT 3-0, and Lipscomb defeated Stetson 3-0. With their wins, Liberty and Lipscomb joined Kennesaw and FGCU and clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship.
The Eagles remain in second place in conference behind Kennesaw
1. Kennesaw State (20-4, 11-0)
2. FGCU (19-6, 10-1)
3. Lipscomb (14-9, 9-2)
4. Liberty (12-13, 8-3)
5. Stetson (12-10, 4-6)
6. North Florida (9-19, 4-8)
7. NJIT (4-22, 2-9)
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. North Alabama (2-18, 0-11)
Up Next:
The Eagles wrap up their five-match homestead at the Alico Arena as they battle NJIT on Sunday, October 28 at 2 P.M. The Eagles have faced NJIT earlier in the season in a 3-0 shutout for Botsford's 99th career win.
M. Golf: Pinetree Intercollegiate Day Two Recap
The FGCU men's golf team wrapped up the Pinetree Intercollegiate following a final-round 295 (+7) to finish eighth among 11 teams with a 54-hole 890 (+26).
"We started the day slow and then picked up some momentum mid-round, even pushing up to fifth place at one point," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "Potter's birdies on 11, 12, 13 and 14 were big. Unfortunately, we didn't finish strong but were very close. It's time to regroup and get ready for our home event this coming weekend."
Senior Andrew Potter fired a 4-under 68 to pace the Green and Blue in the final round. Despite a double-bogey on his second hole after starting out on the 10th, he birdied the 14th, eagled the 16th and recorded four consecutive birdies from the second through fifth holes.
With his result, Potter tied his career-low set in the Stetson Legacy Intercollegiate on Feb. 26 last year. His 217 (+1) for the tournament was good for a 10th-place tie.
Freshman Tate Heintzelman and sophomore Cole Castro finished just one stroke apart. Heintzelman, who fired a second-round 71, finished at 223 (+7) with three birdies, while Castro had a pair of birdies and finished with a 73 (+1) on Tuesday to check in at 224. The duo finished tied for 27th and 29th, respectively.
Junior Brent Fredericksen (233, +17, T-50th) and freshman Chase Bigham (238, +25, T-53rd) rounded out the lineup.
The tournament itself featured close finish as just nine strokes separated fourth through eighth place. Wisconsin captured the event with an 857 (-7), which was just ahead of Kennesaw State (-2) and Western Kentucky (-1). Western Kentucky's Billy Tom Sargent defeated Wisconsin's Jordan Hahn in a playoff to win the individual championship.
Individual Results
T-10. Andrew Potter - 78-71-68---217 (+1)
T-27. Tate Heintzelman - 74-71-78---223 (+7)
T-29. Cole Castro - 74-77-73---224 (+8)
T-50. Brent Fredericksen - 82-75-76---233 (+17)
T-53. Chase Bigham - 81-71-86---238 (+25)
Team Results (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #109 Wisconsin - 286-286-285---857 (-7)
2. #50 Kennesaw State - 285-287-290---862 (-2)
3. #120 Western Kentucky - 294-276-293---863 (-1)
4. #143 Mercer - 306-288-287---881 (+17)
5. #193 Austin Peay State - 292-292-300---884 (+20)
6. #86 Jacksonville State - 299-289-298---886 (+22)
7. #191 Elon - 300-297-291---888 (+24)
8. #148 FGCU - 307-288-295---890 (+26)
9. #94 Northern Illinois - 304-295-297---896 (+32)
10. #192 Belmont - 308-295-298---901 (+37)
11. #212 Nicholls State - 296-306-318---917 (+53)
Up Next:
The Eagles return home as they host the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero.
"We started the day slow and then picked up some momentum mid-round, even pushing up to fifth place at one point," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "Potter's birdies on 11, 12, 13 and 14 were big. Unfortunately, we didn't finish strong but were very close. It's time to regroup and get ready for our home event this coming weekend."
Senior Andrew Potter fired a 4-under 68 to pace the Green and Blue in the final round. Despite a double-bogey on his second hole after starting out on the 10th, he birdied the 14th, eagled the 16th and recorded four consecutive birdies from the second through fifth holes.
With his result, Potter tied his career-low set in the Stetson Legacy Intercollegiate on Feb. 26 last year. His 217 (+1) for the tournament was good for a 10th-place tie.
Freshman Tate Heintzelman and sophomore Cole Castro finished just one stroke apart. Heintzelman, who fired a second-round 71, finished at 223 (+7) with three birdies, while Castro had a pair of birdies and finished with a 73 (+1) on Tuesday to check in at 224. The duo finished tied for 27th and 29th, respectively.
Junior Brent Fredericksen (233, +17, T-50th) and freshman Chase Bigham (238, +25, T-53rd) rounded out the lineup.
The tournament itself featured close finish as just nine strokes separated fourth through eighth place. Wisconsin captured the event with an 857 (-7), which was just ahead of Kennesaw State (-2) and Western Kentucky (-1). Western Kentucky's Billy Tom Sargent defeated Wisconsin's Jordan Hahn in a playoff to win the individual championship.
Individual Results
T-10. Andrew Potter - 78-71-68---217 (+1)
T-27. Tate Heintzelman - 74-71-78---223 (+7)
T-29. Cole Castro - 74-77-73---224 (+8)
T-50. Brent Fredericksen - 82-75-76---233 (+17)
T-53. Chase Bigham - 81-71-86---238 (+25)
Team Results (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #109 Wisconsin - 286-286-285---857 (-7)
2. #50 Kennesaw State - 285-287-290---862 (-2)
3. #120 Western Kentucky - 294-276-293---863 (-1)
4. #143 Mercer - 306-288-287---881 (+17)
5. #193 Austin Peay State - 292-292-300---884 (+20)
6. #86 Jacksonville State - 299-289-298---886 (+22)
7. #191 Elon - 300-297-291---888 (+24)
8. #148 FGCU - 307-288-295---890 (+26)
9. #94 Northern Illinois - 304-295-297---896 (+32)
10. #192 Belmont - 308-295-298---901 (+37)
11. #212 Nicholls State - 296-306-318---917 (+53)
Up Next:
The Eagles return home as they host the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero.
FGCU W. Soc vs Liberty: A--SUN Quarterfinals Preview
The FGCU Eagles (12-3-2) begin their path to their fifth straight A-SUN Tournament Championship on Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee where they will lock up with Liberty (6-10-0) in the quarterfinals in a 7 PM (EST) opening kick at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles come into the A-SUN Tournament on fire, having outscored their last three opponents 12-0 to close out the regular season. Even more impressive is FGCU's 83-15 shot advantage over the same stretch.
In their final game of the regular season, the Eagles saw themselves in a scoreless battle at the half with Stetson before bombarding the Hatters with three second half goals to run away with a 3-0 victory. It was Senior Night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, but it was the youngsters that stole the show as freshman Alyssa Abbondandolo scored twice and fellow freshman Brianna Hatfield converted a late free kick from just outside the 18' to put the icing on the cake of the three goal win.
Award Winners:
The Eagles have won nine awards and recognitions:
Juniors Lindsey Patton and the A-SUN Legion of Doom, Marjorie "Ma" Boilesen and Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova and senior Holly Fritz were named on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, junior Melissa Weck was named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and Abbondandolo was named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. For Fritz and Boilesen, this was their second time winning first team accolades.
"It is always an honor to have our kids be honored by our peers," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "These kids have worked so hard and it is great to see it getting rewarded. If you look at Weck only giving up three goals during the entire conference season, that is impressive! I am proud of how they represent our program on and off the field and couldn't be happier for them to be recognized."
Academically, Fritz and Patton were named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team with Fritz being named the A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This was Patton's second straight year on the All-Academic Team.
"We are very proud of both Holly and Lindsey for representing us on the All-Academic Team," said Blankenship. "They both represent everything that we ask them to both on and off the field. It is a wonderful accomplishment for them and I am sure just the first of many for both of them."
Now I'm a little infuriated because Popadinova should have won the A-SUN Player of the Year instead of Lipscomb's Olivia Doak. Popadinova did better than Doak. I mean she had 13 goals compared to Doak's seven and had five goals in conference compare to Doak's three, so I feel the system was rigged.
Scouting the Lady Flames:
The only thing standing between Liberty and a six game winning streak heading into the playoffs has been the Eagles. FGCU has been the only team to knock off the Lady Flames in the past three weeks as they have climbed from the A-SUN cellar into a third place tie to end the year.
Liberty enters the tournament, like FGCU, on a three game winning streak and prior to their loss to the Eagles, handed Lipscomb their only loss of the conference season.
It has been a balanced attack for Liberty who has had 16 different players record points and nine different players score goals this season. Three different Lady Flames have three goals on the year including junior Gabrielle Farrell, freshman Zoey Gaffney, and senior Devon Sipala.
On the awards list, Farrell and sophomore Cora Duininck were named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team.
Gaffney and fellow freshman Madison Ellis were named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.
Senior Caroline Boone was named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team.
Despite their recent success, Liberty still ranks at the bottom of the conference in both goals for (7th) and goals against (8th) this season, however, in A-SUN action, they have worked more towards the middle of the park, holding a +.26 margin per game which ranked 5th.
Final Standings:
The final seeds have been set in stone:
#1 Lipscomb (12-4-2)
#2 NJIT (11-4-2
#3 Kennesaw State (12-5-1)
#4 FGCU (12-3-2)
#5 Liberty (6-10-0)
#6 North Alabama (9-8-1)
Due to their overall conference records, #7 North Florida (7-8-1), #8 Stetson (4-10-3), and #9 Jacksonville (1-14-1) did not qualify for the conference tournament since only six seeds can go.
What's at Stake:
The winner of the quarterfinals match will face Lipscomb in the semis. Lipscomb is listed as the #1 seed, and will have a first-round bye and await the winner between FGCU and Liberty.
On the other side in New Jersey, NJIT are listed as the #2 seed and will also have a first-round bye as they await the winner between #3 seed Kennesaw and #6 seed North Alabama.
This will be UNA first time in the A-SUN Tournament for women's soccer. If they win, it means nothing. I mean if they win the tournament, then great, however, since this is their first year in NCAA DI after transitioning from the NCAA DII Gulf South Conference, they will not be eligible to go to the NCAA National Women's Soccer Tournament due to the four-year transitional period, and instead the regular season champion will be going to the national tournament.
How to Watch:
The game will have livestats and will air on Lipscomb's Facebook Live page.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=235018
Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/LipscombWomensSoccer/
Last Time Out:
The Eagles come into the A-SUN Tournament on fire, having outscored their last three opponents 12-0 to close out the regular season. Even more impressive is FGCU's 83-15 shot advantage over the same stretch.
In their final game of the regular season, the Eagles saw themselves in a scoreless battle at the half with Stetson before bombarding the Hatters with three second half goals to run away with a 3-0 victory. It was Senior Night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, but it was the youngsters that stole the show as freshman Alyssa Abbondandolo scored twice and fellow freshman Brianna Hatfield converted a late free kick from just outside the 18' to put the icing on the cake of the three goal win.
Award Winners:
The Eagles have won nine awards and recognitions:
Juniors Lindsey Patton and the A-SUN Legion of Doom, Marjorie "Ma" Boilesen and Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova and senior Holly Fritz were named on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, junior Melissa Weck was named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and Abbondandolo was named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. For Fritz and Boilesen, this was their second time winning first team accolades.
"It is always an honor to have our kids be honored by our peers," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "These kids have worked so hard and it is great to see it getting rewarded. If you look at Weck only giving up three goals during the entire conference season, that is impressive! I am proud of how they represent our program on and off the field and couldn't be happier for them to be recognized."
Academically, Fritz and Patton were named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team with Fritz being named the A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This was Patton's second straight year on the All-Academic Team.
"We are very proud of both Holly and Lindsey for representing us on the All-Academic Team," said Blankenship. "They both represent everything that we ask them to both on and off the field. It is a wonderful accomplishment for them and I am sure just the first of many for both of them."
Now I'm a little infuriated because Popadinova should have won the A-SUN Player of the Year instead of Lipscomb's Olivia Doak. Popadinova did better than Doak. I mean she had 13 goals compared to Doak's seven and had five goals in conference compare to Doak's three, so I feel the system was rigged.
Scouting the Lady Flames:
The only thing standing between Liberty and a six game winning streak heading into the playoffs has been the Eagles. FGCU has been the only team to knock off the Lady Flames in the past three weeks as they have climbed from the A-SUN cellar into a third place tie to end the year.
Liberty enters the tournament, like FGCU, on a three game winning streak and prior to their loss to the Eagles, handed Lipscomb their only loss of the conference season.
It has been a balanced attack for Liberty who has had 16 different players record points and nine different players score goals this season. Three different Lady Flames have three goals on the year including junior Gabrielle Farrell, freshman Zoey Gaffney, and senior Devon Sipala.
On the awards list, Farrell and sophomore Cora Duininck were named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team.
Gaffney and fellow freshman Madison Ellis were named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.
Senior Caroline Boone was named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team.
Despite their recent success, Liberty still ranks at the bottom of the conference in both goals for (7th) and goals against (8th) this season, however, in A-SUN action, they have worked more towards the middle of the park, holding a +.26 margin per game which ranked 5th.
Final Standings:
The final seeds have been set in stone:
#1 Lipscomb (12-4-2)
#2 NJIT (11-4-2
#3 Kennesaw State (12-5-1)
#4 FGCU (12-3-2)
#5 Liberty (6-10-0)
#6 North Alabama (9-8-1)
Due to their overall conference records, #7 North Florida (7-8-1), #8 Stetson (4-10-3), and #9 Jacksonville (1-14-1) did not qualify for the conference tournament since only six seeds can go.
What's at Stake:
The winner of the quarterfinals match will face Lipscomb in the semis. Lipscomb is listed as the #1 seed, and will have a first-round bye and await the winner between FGCU and Liberty.
On the other side in New Jersey, NJIT are listed as the #2 seed and will also have a first-round bye as they await the winner between #3 seed Kennesaw and #6 seed North Alabama.
This will be UNA first time in the A-SUN Tournament for women's soccer. If they win, it means nothing. I mean if they win the tournament, then great, however, since this is their first year in NCAA DI after transitioning from the NCAA DII Gulf South Conference, they will not be eligible to go to the NCAA National Women's Soccer Tournament due to the four-year transitional period, and instead the regular season champion will be going to the national tournament.
How to Watch:
The game will have livestats and will air on Lipscomb's Facebook Live page.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=235018
Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/LipscombWomensSoccer/
FGCU M. Soc @ JU Preview
The FGCU men's soccer team (8-5-1, 4-1 A-SUN) prepare to wrap up the regular season as they face Jacksonville (4-11, 3-2 A-SUN) on the road on Saturday, October 27 at 7 P.M. at Southern Oak Stadium.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles played their last home game of the season as they defeated UNF 5-0 on Senior Night for six seniors, Jason Van Achteren, Raheem Somersall, Jordan Lue, Dennis Zapata, Preston Kilwien and Kamar Marriott, in which all six played in the game.
Offensively, freshman O'Vonte Mullings and junior Shak Adams lead the Eagles with seven goals each. Mullings had one assist against UNF while Adams did not play.
Another player on the offensive front is junior Joao Burti. Burti has four goals and an assist in his name. The Brazilian had one goal against UNF.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos (7-3-1) was tested by UNF, but managed to get his fourth clean sheet of the season with two saves. Vasconcelos has a conference-leading 54 saves with a .841 save percentage.
The defense was held profoundly by Kilwien, Marriott, Lue, and Somersall as they allowed only 15 goals (1.35 GAA) this season.
Playoff Picture:
After Wednesday's win, the Eagle are tied for first with Lipscomb, but they have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship along with Lipscomb, Liberty and JU.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of a 3-1 win against FAU for their last non-conference game. In their most recent loss in conference play, the Dolphins dropped a heat-breaking 3-2 double overtime game on the road against Liberty.
Offensively, freshman Reed Davis leads the team with five goals. He had both goals in the loss against Liberty and none in the win against FAU.
Not far behind is senior Selemani Baruani. Baruani is second on the team with four goals. He had a goal and an assist in the game against FAU.
Goalkeeper-wise, the Dolphins have rotated with freshman Matt Levy (3-5) and senior Patrick Harding (1-5).
Levy leads the team with 48 saves and has given up 19 goals. In his last game, Levy played in the loss against Liberty where he finished with 10 saves.
Harding started in the game against FAU as he earned his first win of the season after giving up one goal with nine saves.
It is not clear whether Levy or Harding will start, but if I were to guess, it would be Levy since he has a better record than Harding.
This will be the Dolphins' senior for the following seniors: Harding, Baruani, Juan Sebastian Ramirez, Ignazio Muccilli, and Stephan Spicer.
Series History:
The Eagles are 9-3 overall against the Dolphins. Last season, the Eagles defeated JU 1-0 at home.
The Dolphins last win against FGCU was on October 4, 2009 where they defeated the Eagles 4-1.
What's at Stake:
A win for FGCU could push them closer to the season championship and the #1 seed in the conference tournament. They have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship guaranteed and currently sit in first place.
The Bison (6-9, 4-1 A-SUN) are tied with the Eagles in first place in conference, but sit in second based on their overall record. The Bison will play Stetson (6-8-1, 1-3-1 A-SUN) the same time as FGCU.
Lipscomb, Jacksonville and Liberty (7-6-1, 2-3-1 A-SUN) have also clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air livestream on the ESPN+ app. The app costs $4.99 a month to watch all livestream games available.
Fans can also keep up with both teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MSoccer
Jacksonville: @JAX_MSOC
Livestats link: http://judolphins.com/sports/msoc/2018-19/boxscores/20181027_c2ce.xml
Livestream link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3438739/florida-gulf-coast-vs-jacksonville-m-soccer
Last Time Out:
The Eagles played their last home game of the season as they defeated UNF 5-0 on Senior Night for six seniors, Jason Van Achteren, Raheem Somersall, Jordan Lue, Dennis Zapata, Preston Kilwien and Kamar Marriott, in which all six played in the game.
Offensively, freshman O'Vonte Mullings and junior Shak Adams lead the Eagles with seven goals each. Mullings had one assist against UNF while Adams did not play.
Another player on the offensive front is junior Joao Burti. Burti has four goals and an assist in his name. The Brazilian had one goal against UNF.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos (7-3-1) was tested by UNF, but managed to get his fourth clean sheet of the season with two saves. Vasconcelos has a conference-leading 54 saves with a .841 save percentage.
The defense was held profoundly by Kilwien, Marriott, Lue, and Somersall as they allowed only 15 goals (1.35 GAA) this season.
Playoff Picture:
After Wednesday's win, the Eagle are tied for first with Lipscomb, but they have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship along with Lipscomb, Liberty and JU.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of a 3-1 win against FAU for their last non-conference game. In their most recent loss in conference play, the Dolphins dropped a heat-breaking 3-2 double overtime game on the road against Liberty.
Offensively, freshman Reed Davis leads the team with five goals. He had both goals in the loss against Liberty and none in the win against FAU.
Not far behind is senior Selemani Baruani. Baruani is second on the team with four goals. He had a goal and an assist in the game against FAU.
Goalkeeper-wise, the Dolphins have rotated with freshman Matt Levy (3-5) and senior Patrick Harding (1-5).
Levy leads the team with 48 saves and has given up 19 goals. In his last game, Levy played in the loss against Liberty where he finished with 10 saves.
Harding started in the game against FAU as he earned his first win of the season after giving up one goal with nine saves.
It is not clear whether Levy or Harding will start, but if I were to guess, it would be Levy since he has a better record than Harding.
This will be the Dolphins' senior for the following seniors: Harding, Baruani, Juan Sebastian Ramirez, Ignazio Muccilli, and Stephan Spicer.
Series History:
The Eagles are 9-3 overall against the Dolphins. Last season, the Eagles defeated JU 1-0 at home.
The Dolphins last win against FGCU was on October 4, 2009 where they defeated the Eagles 4-1.
What's at Stake:
A win for FGCU could push them closer to the season championship and the #1 seed in the conference tournament. They have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship guaranteed and currently sit in first place.
The Bison (6-9, 4-1 A-SUN) are tied with the Eagles in first place in conference, but sit in second based on their overall record. The Bison will play Stetson (6-8-1, 1-3-1 A-SUN) the same time as FGCU.
Lipscomb, Jacksonville and Liberty (7-6-1, 2-3-1 A-SUN) have also clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air livestream on the ESPN+ app. The app costs $4.99 a month to watch all livestream games available.
Fans can also keep up with both teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MSoccer
Jacksonville: @JAX_MSOC
Livestats link: http://judolphins.com/sports/msoc/2018-19/boxscores/20181027_c2ce.xml
Livestream link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3438739/florida-gulf-coast-vs-jacksonville-m-soccer
FGCU Me. Ten: ITA Regional Recap
The FGCU men's tennis team completed the ITA Regional with history as seniors Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz did something this weekend that no other Eagles in program history had done, advancing to the semifinal round of the ITA Southeast Regional Tournament, to lead FGCU in their marquee event of the fall.
"This year at regionals, I believe the team learned a lot about themselves and their game" head coach CJ Weber said. "Although not everybody performed up to their expectations, there were many positives to take away from the tournament. I'm extremely proud of Felipe and Mateo, this is the best result FGCU has ever had at regionals in doubles. I know they are disappointed, as their goal was to win the tournament, but they played some great tennis this weekend and it was a joy to watch them compete. We are now looking forward to this weekend playing on clay at Bonita Bay."
Escobar and Ruiz stole the show in the doubles draw early on, picking up a dominating 8-3 win in their opening match over Croyder/Diaz of the University of Georgia to advance to the second round. In the second round, they ran up against a familiar foe in Deshmukh/Nunez of North Florida and battled the Ospreys' pair to the bitter end before pulling out an 8-7 (3) decision to push on to the quarters.
Thought to be the first FGCU pair to ever advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament, Escobar and Ruiz weren't satisfied yet, outlasting Kessler/Vale from the University of Florida to solidify their names in the record books as they reached the round of four. Their storybook weekend came to a close Tuesday morning though as they dropped a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 (3) decision to Florida State's Arcila/Knaff to finish the tournament in 3rd place.
The other Eagles to draw a positive result in the doubles draw were juniors Felipe Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas who picked up a big 8-6 win over Nahrung/Thongoana or Florida State in the first round before dropping a close 8-7 (5) final to Ingildsen/Berdusco of Florida in the second round to end their weekend.
FGCU sent six into the unflighted singles draw. Sakalauskas had the most success for the Green and Blue, winning his first round matchup 7-6 (4), 6-2 over Luis Labarta of FAU and backing that up with a grinding 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 come from behind victory over William Smith of Miami to advance to the round of 16 in the qualifying bracket. Needing one more victory to move onto the main draw, Sakalauskas came up just short, losing his first match of the fall season in a 6-4, 6-1 decision to Diego Padilha of Georgia Southern.
Three other Eagles earned victories on the singles side. Ruiz put up matching 6-3 set victories against Tim Gennes of Stetson while sophomore Juan Montes downed Ignacio Garcia of FAU 6-1, 6-1 and Ramirez traded 6-3 scores to a three set win over Dane Dunlap of Miami.
Overall FGCU earned nine victories at the tournament.
Up Next:
FGCU returns home for their next action when they host the likes of Illinois, Louisville, Memphis, Arkansas, and Kentucky in the Finemark/FGCU Collegiate Open at Bonita Bay Club Friday through Sunday.
"This year at regionals, I believe the team learned a lot about themselves and their game" head coach CJ Weber said. "Although not everybody performed up to their expectations, there were many positives to take away from the tournament. I'm extremely proud of Felipe and Mateo, this is the best result FGCU has ever had at regionals in doubles. I know they are disappointed, as their goal was to win the tournament, but they played some great tennis this weekend and it was a joy to watch them compete. We are now looking forward to this weekend playing on clay at Bonita Bay."
Escobar and Ruiz stole the show in the doubles draw early on, picking up a dominating 8-3 win in their opening match over Croyder/Diaz of the University of Georgia to advance to the second round. In the second round, they ran up against a familiar foe in Deshmukh/Nunez of North Florida and battled the Ospreys' pair to the bitter end before pulling out an 8-7 (3) decision to push on to the quarters.
Thought to be the first FGCU pair to ever advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament, Escobar and Ruiz weren't satisfied yet, outlasting Kessler/Vale from the University of Florida to solidify their names in the record books as they reached the round of four. Their storybook weekend came to a close Tuesday morning though as they dropped a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 (3) decision to Florida State's Arcila/Knaff to finish the tournament in 3rd place.
The other Eagles to draw a positive result in the doubles draw were juniors Felipe Ramirez and Feliksas Sakalauskas who picked up a big 8-6 win over Nahrung/Thongoana or Florida State in the first round before dropping a close 8-7 (5) final to Ingildsen/Berdusco of Florida in the second round to end their weekend.
FGCU sent six into the unflighted singles draw. Sakalauskas had the most success for the Green and Blue, winning his first round matchup 7-6 (4), 6-2 over Luis Labarta of FAU and backing that up with a grinding 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 come from behind victory over William Smith of Miami to advance to the round of 16 in the qualifying bracket. Needing one more victory to move onto the main draw, Sakalauskas came up just short, losing his first match of the fall season in a 6-4, 6-1 decision to Diego Padilha of Georgia Southern.
Three other Eagles earned victories on the singles side. Ruiz put up matching 6-3 set victories against Tim Gennes of Stetson while sophomore Juan Montes downed Ignacio Garcia of FAU 6-1, 6-1 and Ramirez traded 6-3 scores to a three set win over Dane Dunlap of Miami.
Overall FGCU earned nine victories at the tournament.
Up Next:
FGCU returns home for their next action when they host the likes of Illinois, Louisville, Memphis, Arkansas, and Kentucky in the Finemark/FGCU Collegiate Open at Bonita Bay Club Friday through Sunday.
FGCU M. Soc vs UNF Recap
The FGCU men's soccer team (8-5-1, 4-1 A-SUN) finished their last home game of the season as they clipped UNF (3-10, 2-3 A-SUN) 5-0 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. With the win, the Eagles are now 10-2-2 overall against the Ospreys.
"We really wanted to get things on track as we get into the final games of the conference, so I thought today was a great step," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "It was one of the games where we finally seemed to compete for 90 minutes and attack. I thought the guys comprehensively and cohesively defended. When these guys come together and are complete, we're tough to beat and we haven't really been able to put that together until now, so we're hopeful we can continue that form going into the weekend."
"FGCU is a good team and very athletic, and we knew that coming into tonight's match," said head coach Derek Marinatos. "I thought we started poorly and dug ourselves into a hole with the 2-0 deficit, and it was unfortunate with our own goal to start the match. Once we were down 2-0, we showed spurts of good soccer and Bryson Smith was great on the right side for us. I really thought we could've had a goal there late in the first half to cut in lead in half. In the second half, we came out feeling like we had to scored and didn't hold onto the ball, and FGCU took advantage by capitalizing on us."
"At the end of the day, we need a point or a win on Saturday at home to keep our season alive and advance to the A-SUN Tournament, but we just got outplayed tonight."
Prior to the start of the match, six seniors were recognized from the Eagles: Jason Van Achteren, Raheem Somersall, Jordan Lue, Dennis Zapata, Preston Kilwien and Kamar Marriott.
Lue, Zapata, Kilwien and Marriott have been on the team since their freshman year. Lue joined FGCU after transferring from UCF.
Van Achteren and Somersall joined FGCU this season. Van Achteren came as an NCAA DII double-transfer after playing his freshman year at Embry-Riddle before transferring to Eastern New Mexico for his sophomore year while Somersall joined FGCU after spending his freshman to junior year at Appalachian State.
Although with Van Achteren, he was listed as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining, so the question I'm trying to figure out is did he forfeit his final year of eligibility or is he going to use it?
Moving on, Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos between the post while Marinatos sent freshman Ryan Stevens to counter. This was Steven's on-field debut for the Ospreys
The Eagles had Somersall, Lue, Zapata, Kilwien and Marriott in the starting lineup.
Stevens would suffer an injury and was replaced by junior Philip D'Amico. Not even five minutes into the first half and the Eagles were ahead 1-0 after D'Amico caused a own goal off a cross in the box. That's something I don't really see often for men's soccer.
10 minutes in, D'Amico would earn a yellow card after a hard foul on Zapata. To be honest, in all the FGCU soccer games I've seen, I never thought a goalkeeper from the opposing team would get a yellow card. Well it happened and that sent Zapata to kick a successful penalty shot to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead before the end of the first half. This was Zapata's second goal of the season.
Stevens would return at the start of the second half. 20 minutes in, junior Ryan Medilah would get issued a yellow card for the Eagles setting up a free kick for freshman Bryson Smith, but to no avail as it was blocked.
After an unsuccessful corner kick from sophomore Collin Scott, junior Miguel Perez would increase the Eagles lead to 3-0 with assists from Vasconcelos and freshman O'Vonte Mullings. This was Perez's first goal of the season.
For Vasconcelos and Mullings, it was their first (Vasconcelos) and fourth (Mullings) assist of the season. Although I never seen a goalkeeper get an assist. It feels like it's quite rare to see.
Two minutes later, after two UNF fouls, Mullings would increase the Eagles' lead to 4-0 with his seventh goal of the season with an cross assist from sophomore Titouan "Tito" Le Menec. This was Le Menec's second assist of the season.
After another UNF yellow card issued to redshirt sophomore Adam Everett, Van Achteren would come in for Lue. Lue finished after 56 minutes of play.
Three minutes later, junior Ivan Rosales would enter in for Zapata. Zapata exited after 70 minutes of play.
After Van Achteren was issued a yellow card, redshirt sophomore Noah Bushey would sub in for Somerall, who exited after 71 minutes of play. Van Achteren would finish with 24 minutes of play.
After a yellow card was issued to junior Tom Denat, redshirt freshman Parker Holland would come in for Kilwien. The native of Pleasant Hill, California exited after 80 minutes of play.
Redshirt sophomore Thomas Delplace would sub for Marriott while fellow redshirt sophomore TC Anderson subbed in for Le Menec. Marriott would exit after 82 minutes of play.
Vasconcelos would also be subbed out after 83 minutes as redshirt freshman Josh Morgan came in. Morgan made his on-field debut after sitting out his freshman year.
With five minutes left, junior Joao Burti would hit a solo shot from inside the 18 box for his fourth goal of the season to give the Eagles a 5-0 before the end of the match.
Vasconcelos would earn his seventh win of the season and his fourth clean slate of the season, putting his record to 7-3-1. The Brazilian also added two saves to the mix.
Morgan finished with 6 minutes of play in his debut.
Despite giving up four goals, Steven did not get the loss, but did have four saves.
D'Amico would earn his seventh loss of the season, putting his record to 3-7 after giving up the first goal of the game.
The Eagles have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship and are tied for first with Lipscomb. Jacksonville and Liberty have also clinched a spot in the championship.
Up Next:
The Eagles wrap up the regular as they head five hours to take on Jacksonville (4-11, 3-2 A-SUN) on Saturday, October 27 at 7 P.M.
"We really wanted to get things on track as we get into the final games of the conference, so I thought today was a great step," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "It was one of the games where we finally seemed to compete for 90 minutes and attack. I thought the guys comprehensively and cohesively defended. When these guys come together and are complete, we're tough to beat and we haven't really been able to put that together until now, so we're hopeful we can continue that form going into the weekend."
"FGCU is a good team and very athletic, and we knew that coming into tonight's match," said head coach Derek Marinatos. "I thought we started poorly and dug ourselves into a hole with the 2-0 deficit, and it was unfortunate with our own goal to start the match. Once we were down 2-0, we showed spurts of good soccer and Bryson Smith was great on the right side for us. I really thought we could've had a goal there late in the first half to cut in lead in half. In the second half, we came out feeling like we had to scored and didn't hold onto the ball, and FGCU took advantage by capitalizing on us."
"At the end of the day, we need a point or a win on Saturday at home to keep our season alive and advance to the A-SUN Tournament, but we just got outplayed tonight."
Prior to the start of the match, six seniors were recognized from the Eagles: Jason Van Achteren, Raheem Somersall, Jordan Lue, Dennis Zapata, Preston Kilwien and Kamar Marriott.
Lue, Zapata, Kilwien and Marriott have been on the team since their freshman year. Lue joined FGCU after transferring from UCF.
Van Achteren and Somersall joined FGCU this season. Van Achteren came as an NCAA DII double-transfer after playing his freshman year at Embry-Riddle before transferring to Eastern New Mexico for his sophomore year while Somersall joined FGCU after spending his freshman to junior year at Appalachian State.
Although with Van Achteren, he was listed as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining, so the question I'm trying to figure out is did he forfeit his final year of eligibility or is he going to use it?
Moving on, Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos between the post while Marinatos sent freshman Ryan Stevens to counter. This was Steven's on-field debut for the Ospreys
The Eagles had Somersall, Lue, Zapata, Kilwien and Marriott in the starting lineup.
Stevens would suffer an injury and was replaced by junior Philip D'Amico. Not even five minutes into the first half and the Eagles were ahead 1-0 after D'Amico caused a own goal off a cross in the box. That's something I don't really see often for men's soccer.
10 minutes in, D'Amico would earn a yellow card after a hard foul on Zapata. To be honest, in all the FGCU soccer games I've seen, I never thought a goalkeeper from the opposing team would get a yellow card. Well it happened and that sent Zapata to kick a successful penalty shot to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead before the end of the first half. This was Zapata's second goal of the season.
Stevens would return at the start of the second half. 20 minutes in, junior Ryan Medilah would get issued a yellow card for the Eagles setting up a free kick for freshman Bryson Smith, but to no avail as it was blocked.
After an unsuccessful corner kick from sophomore Collin Scott, junior Miguel Perez would increase the Eagles lead to 3-0 with assists from Vasconcelos and freshman O'Vonte Mullings. This was Perez's first goal of the season.
For Vasconcelos and Mullings, it was their first (Vasconcelos) and fourth (Mullings) assist of the season. Although I never seen a goalkeeper get an assist. It feels like it's quite rare to see.
Two minutes later, after two UNF fouls, Mullings would increase the Eagles' lead to 4-0 with his seventh goal of the season with an cross assist from sophomore Titouan "Tito" Le Menec. This was Le Menec's second assist of the season.
After another UNF yellow card issued to redshirt sophomore Adam Everett, Van Achteren would come in for Lue. Lue finished after 56 minutes of play.
Three minutes later, junior Ivan Rosales would enter in for Zapata. Zapata exited after 70 minutes of play.
After Van Achteren was issued a yellow card, redshirt sophomore Noah Bushey would sub in for Somerall, who exited after 71 minutes of play. Van Achteren would finish with 24 minutes of play.
After a yellow card was issued to junior Tom Denat, redshirt freshman Parker Holland would come in for Kilwien. The native of Pleasant Hill, California exited after 80 minutes of play.
Redshirt sophomore Thomas Delplace would sub for Marriott while fellow redshirt sophomore TC Anderson subbed in for Le Menec. Marriott would exit after 82 minutes of play.
Vasconcelos would also be subbed out after 83 minutes as redshirt freshman Josh Morgan came in. Morgan made his on-field debut after sitting out his freshman year.
With five minutes left, junior Joao Burti would hit a solo shot from inside the 18 box for his fourth goal of the season to give the Eagles a 5-0 before the end of the match.
Vasconcelos would earn his seventh win of the season and his fourth clean slate of the season, putting his record to 7-3-1. The Brazilian also added two saves to the mix.
Morgan finished with 6 minutes of play in his debut.
Despite giving up four goals, Steven did not get the loss, but did have four saves.
D'Amico would earn his seventh loss of the season, putting his record to 3-7 after giving up the first goal of the game.
The Eagles have already clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship and are tied for first with Lipscomb. Jacksonville and Liberty have also clinched a spot in the championship.
Up Next:
The Eagles wrap up the regular as they head five hours to take on Jacksonville (4-11, 3-2 A-SUN) on Saturday, October 27 at 7 P.M.
FGCU VB vs North Alabama, NJIT Preview
The FGCU volleyball team (18-6, 9-1 A-SUN) wrap up their five-match homestead as they welcome A-SUN newcomer North Alabama (2-17, 0-10 A-SUN) on Friday, October 26 at 7 P.M. and NJIT (4-21, 2-8 A-SUN) on Sunday, October 28 at 1 P.M.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of winning three matches of their five-match homestead as they shutout UNF, JU, and FIU 3-0. The Eagles swept UNF and JU at home and away, while the match against FIU was the Eagles' last non-conference match of the season.
Currently, the Eagles remain in second behind Kennesaw State (19-4, 10-0), who will play UNF (9-17, 4-7 A-SUN) also on Friday, October 26 at 7 P.M. and Stetson (12-9, 4-5 A-SUN) on Saturday, October 27 at 6 P.M. with both being on the road.
RPI:
FGCU currently ranks 96th in the latest RPI poll. They are 4-3 against RPI top 100 teams including No. 9 UCF (0-2), No. 57 Miami (1-0), No. 69 New Mexico State (1-0), No. 83 Yale (1-0), No. 86 Florida Atlantic (1-0) and No. 88 Kennesaw State (0-1).
Playoff Picture:
Aside from being in second place, the Eagles are in good shape as far as the conference tournament picture as they became one of the first two A-SUN Conference Volleyball squads to clinch berths in the A-SUN Championship next month with Kennesaw.
What it Do VanLiew?:
The highlight of the offense remains with sophomore Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew is coming off a week of 32 kills (13 vs UNF, 10 vs JU, 9 vs FIU), 22 digs, and two aces. The Seymour native leads the team with 331 kills (3.99 per set). Her nine kills snapped her streak of 10 straight matches with at least 10 kills.
VanLiew's Invitation:
In the wake of the moment on defense, VanLiew joins seniors Kaiti Krivdo and Sharonda Pickering, juniors Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti and Daniele "Dani" Serrano, fellow sophomore Snowy Burnam and freshman Tori Morris as a member of the Block Party. VanLiew has 31 blocks in her name.
With VanLiew's added blocks, the Block Party have a combined 410 total blocks, including 15 against UNF, 27 against JU, and 24 against FIU.
During the week, Morris was named A-SUN Freshman of the Week for her performances against UNF, JU and FIU. Morris had 14 kills and 19 blocks in all three matches.
The Eagles are currently the nation's second-best team in opponent hitting percentage at .132 behind Power 55 Nebraska, while they rank 24th on the offensive side at .263, which would be the third-best in the program's Division-I era.
In addition, the Eagles are fourth in the nation in total blocks (239) behind Florida (249.5) and seventh in blocks per set (2.88) behind Syracuse (2.94) and ahead of Florida (2.87).
Spice Burns:
Serrano is still on fire (no pun intended) on offense and defense. Serrano leads the team and the A-SUN in total blocks (111) and is tied for third in kills with Borgiotti and Burnam (151). The Sanford native had a combined 16 kills and 12 blocks against UNF, JU and FIU.
Serrano's 16 kills put her at 541 in her career (15th all-time). Serrano is 32 away from passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 14th all-time.
Serrano has 265 block assists and 312 total blocks in her career. Serrano is 16 away from passing Olivia Mesner's (265; 342, 2011-14) all-time record in block assists and 31 away for total blocks.
Additionally, Serrano has 97 block assists this year, which gives her the second (98, 2016) and third most in a season. Serrano needs just five more to become the program's all-time single-season leader.
Her 111 total blocks has tied Ashley Yance's 2009 total - in 32 fewer sets played - and sits just eight shy of moving past Yance for another record.
Maggie's World of Assists:
Senior Maggie Rick is only 134 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists. Currently, Rick has 4,275 in her career, and had a combined 55 assists against UNF, JU and FIU.
Rick's Apprentice:
Freshman Chelsea Lockey has been on fire alongside Rick. Lockey currently has 323 assists, in which she became the eighth player in the program's Division-I era to reach 300 career assists. Lockey had a career-high 25 assists in the game against JU.
Chopping Digs:
Freshman Dana Axner remains on her toes defensively. Axner currently has 409 digs (4.93 digs per set) and tied for second on the team with 14 aces.
Axner had a combined 53 digs against UNF, JU and FIU. Against FIU, the Dublin, Ohio native broke and almost broke her own Division-I era record for most digs in a three-set match as she finished with 26 digs.
The 4x A-SUN Freshman of the Week's 26 digs passed Leigh Pudwill (372, 2015-16), Roberta Santos (393, 2007-08) and Elenora Kazarian's (398, 2014-15) single season records in the program's Division-I era against JU and is 15th all-time in the program's Division-I era. Axner is 38 away from passing VanLiew (446) for 14th all-time.
Scouting North Alabama:
North Alabama has yet to win a conference match this after transitioning to DI. The Lions are coming off of 3-1 losses against Kennesaw State and most recently Lipscomb and are in dead last in the conference. The team's lone wins came against Tennessee State and UNC Asheville in the Chattanooga Classic for non-conference play.
As a team, the Lions rank last in the A-SUN in kills (642), while FGCU has exactly twice as many (1,330). In addition, North Alabama averages a conference-worst 844 points per set, while the Eagles check in 1,470 points per set.
Offensively, sophomore Christina Ellwanger leads the team with 175 kills (2.54 per set). Ellwanger had 14 kills against Kennesaw and nine against Lipscomb.
Senior Jayden Davila-McClary leads the way in assists (346, 5.01 per set). McClary had 37 against Kennesaw and 25 against Lipscomb.
Defensively, senior Malaisia Stallworth has 61 blocks. Stallworth had a combined 10 blocks against Kennesaw and Lipscomb.
FGCU played UNA in an earlier match on the road in which they shutout the Lions 3-0. In fact, the win against UNA was Botsford's 100th win in his career with the Eagles.
Scouting NJIT:
The Highlanders are coming off of a two-straight home losses where they were shutout by Lipscomb and Kennesaw.
Offensively, junior Madi Busler and senior Jovana Baosic lead the way for the Highlanders. Busler had a combined 17 kills against Kennesaw and Lipscomb while Baosic had four.
Defensively, senior libero Adriana Nieto leads the A-SUN in digs (413) and digs per set (4.98). Nieto has not played since the matchup against Manhattan.
The Highlanders will play Liberty on October 26 prior to playing FGCU.
Series History:
The Eagles are 7-0 overall against the Highlanders. The Eagles played the Highlanders earlier this season where they won 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
Both matches will have livestats available and will air livestream on Facebook Live from the FGCU volleyball Facebook page.
Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
NJIT: @NjitVolleyball
UNA: @UNA_Volleyball
Links to Livestats:
vs UNA: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=223101
vs NJIT: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=223102
Livestream link: facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball
Promotions:
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of winning three matches of their five-match homestead as they shutout UNF, JU, and FIU 3-0. The Eagles swept UNF and JU at home and away, while the match against FIU was the Eagles' last non-conference match of the season.
Currently, the Eagles remain in second behind Kennesaw State (19-4, 10-0), who will play UNF (9-17, 4-7 A-SUN) also on Friday, October 26 at 7 P.M. and Stetson (12-9, 4-5 A-SUN) on Saturday, October 27 at 6 P.M. with both being on the road.
RPI:
FGCU currently ranks 96th in the latest RPI poll. They are 4-3 against RPI top 100 teams including No. 9 UCF (0-2), No. 57 Miami (1-0), No. 69 New Mexico State (1-0), No. 83 Yale (1-0), No. 86 Florida Atlantic (1-0) and No. 88 Kennesaw State (0-1).
Playoff Picture:
Aside from being in second place, the Eagles are in good shape as far as the conference tournament picture as they became one of the first two A-SUN Conference Volleyball squads to clinch berths in the A-SUN Championship next month with Kennesaw.
What it Do VanLiew?:
The highlight of the offense remains with sophomore Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew is coming off a week of 32 kills (13 vs UNF, 10 vs JU, 9 vs FIU), 22 digs, and two aces. The Seymour native leads the team with 331 kills (3.99 per set). Her nine kills snapped her streak of 10 straight matches with at least 10 kills.
VanLiew's Invitation:
In the wake of the moment on defense, VanLiew joins seniors Kaiti Krivdo and Sharonda Pickering, juniors Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti and Daniele "Dani" Serrano, fellow sophomore Snowy Burnam and freshman Tori Morris as a member of the Block Party. VanLiew has 31 blocks in her name.
With VanLiew's added blocks, the Block Party have a combined 410 total blocks, including 15 against UNF, 27 against JU, and 24 against FIU.
During the week, Morris was named A-SUN Freshman of the Week for her performances against UNF, JU and FIU. Morris had 14 kills and 19 blocks in all three matches.
The Eagles are currently the nation's second-best team in opponent hitting percentage at .132 behind Power 55 Nebraska, while they rank 24th on the offensive side at .263, which would be the third-best in the program's Division-I era.
In addition, the Eagles are fourth in the nation in total blocks (239) behind Florida (249.5) and seventh in blocks per set (2.88) behind Syracuse (2.94) and ahead of Florida (2.87).
Spice Burns:
Serrano is still on fire (no pun intended) on offense and defense. Serrano leads the team and the A-SUN in total blocks (111) and is tied for third in kills with Borgiotti and Burnam (151). The Sanford native had a combined 16 kills and 12 blocks against UNF, JU and FIU.
Serrano's 16 kills put her at 541 in her career (15th all-time). Serrano is 32 away from passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 14th all-time.
Serrano has 265 block assists and 312 total blocks in her career. Serrano is 16 away from passing Olivia Mesner's (265; 342, 2011-14) all-time record in block assists and 31 away for total blocks.
Additionally, Serrano has 97 block assists this year, which gives her the second (98, 2016) and third most in a season. Serrano needs just five more to become the program's all-time single-season leader.
Her 111 total blocks has tied Ashley Yance's 2009 total - in 32 fewer sets played - and sits just eight shy of moving past Yance for another record.
Maggie's World of Assists:
Senior Maggie Rick is only 134 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists. Currently, Rick has 4,275 in her career, and had a combined 55 assists against UNF, JU and FIU.
Rick's Apprentice:
Freshman Chelsea Lockey has been on fire alongside Rick. Lockey currently has 323 assists, in which she became the eighth player in the program's Division-I era to reach 300 career assists. Lockey had a career-high 25 assists in the game against JU.
Chopping Digs:
Freshman Dana Axner remains on her toes defensively. Axner currently has 409 digs (4.93 digs per set) and tied for second on the team with 14 aces.
Axner had a combined 53 digs against UNF, JU and FIU. Against FIU, the Dublin, Ohio native broke and almost broke her own Division-I era record for most digs in a three-set match as she finished with 26 digs.
The 4x A-SUN Freshman of the Week's 26 digs passed Leigh Pudwill (372, 2015-16), Roberta Santos (393, 2007-08) and Elenora Kazarian's (398, 2014-15) single season records in the program's Division-I era against JU and is 15th all-time in the program's Division-I era. Axner is 38 away from passing VanLiew (446) for 14th all-time.
Scouting North Alabama:
North Alabama has yet to win a conference match this after transitioning to DI. The Lions are coming off of 3-1 losses against Kennesaw State and most recently Lipscomb and are in dead last in the conference. The team's lone wins came against Tennessee State and UNC Asheville in the Chattanooga Classic for non-conference play.
As a team, the Lions rank last in the A-SUN in kills (642), while FGCU has exactly twice as many (1,330). In addition, North Alabama averages a conference-worst 844 points per set, while the Eagles check in 1,470 points per set.
Offensively, sophomore Christina Ellwanger leads the team with 175 kills (2.54 per set). Ellwanger had 14 kills against Kennesaw and nine against Lipscomb.
Senior Jayden Davila-McClary leads the way in assists (346, 5.01 per set). McClary had 37 against Kennesaw and 25 against Lipscomb.
Defensively, senior Malaisia Stallworth has 61 blocks. Stallworth had a combined 10 blocks against Kennesaw and Lipscomb.
FGCU played UNA in an earlier match on the road in which they shutout the Lions 3-0. In fact, the win against UNA was Botsford's 100th win in his career with the Eagles.
Scouting NJIT:
The Highlanders are coming off of a two-straight home losses where they were shutout by Lipscomb and Kennesaw.
Offensively, junior Madi Busler and senior Jovana Baosic lead the way for the Highlanders. Busler had a combined 17 kills against Kennesaw and Lipscomb while Baosic had four.
Defensively, senior libero Adriana Nieto leads the A-SUN in digs (413) and digs per set (4.98). Nieto has not played since the matchup against Manhattan.
The Highlanders will play Liberty on October 26 prior to playing FGCU.
Series History:
The Eagles are 7-0 overall against the Highlanders. The Eagles played the Highlanders earlier this season where they won 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
Both matches will have livestats available and will air livestream on Facebook Live from the FGCU volleyball Facebook page.
Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
NJIT: @NjitVolleyball
UNA: @UNA_Volleyball
Links to Livestats:
vs UNA: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=223101
vs NJIT: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=223102
Livestream link: facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball
Promotions:
The doors will open at 6 P.M. against UNA where the theme is "Beat Cancer" Night (vs UNA) and Halloween In The Nest (vs Lipscomb). The match against North Alabama will be dubbed as a pinkout, so marketing is encouraging fans to wear pink to the match.
The doors for the match against NJIT will open a 1 P.M., and there is no specific coloring for the match, but marketing is encouraging fans to wear a costume to the match
The doors for the match against NJIT will open a 1 P.M., and there is no specific coloring for the match, but marketing is encouraging fans to wear a costume to the match
1. Costume Contest: Prizes and Candy to celebrate Halloween with Azul (vs Lipscomb)
2. Pink Out Alico: Buy the 2018 "Beat Cancer" shirt to support the American Cancer Society and wear pink (vs UNA)
Conference Standings:
+1. Kennesaw (19-4, 10-0)
+2. FGCU (18-6, 9-1)
3. Lipscomb (13-9, 8-2)*
4. Liberty (11-13, 7-3)
5. Stetson (12-9, 4-5)
6. UNF (9-18, 4-7)
7. NJIT (4-21, 2-8)*
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. UNA (2-17, 0-10)
*- subject to change Friday
+- clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship
2. Pink Out Alico: Buy the 2018 "Beat Cancer" shirt to support the American Cancer Society and wear pink (vs UNA)
Conference Standings:
+1. Kennesaw (19-4, 10-0)
+2. FGCU (18-6, 9-1)
3. Lipscomb (13-9, 8-2)*
4. Liberty (11-13, 7-3)
5. Stetson (12-9, 4-5)
6. UNF (9-18, 4-7)
7. NJIT (4-21, 2-8)*
8. Jacksonville (3-21, 2-10)
9. UNA (2-17, 0-10)
*- subject to change Friday
+- clinched a spot in the A-SUN Championship
FGCU W. Golf: 41st Pat Bradley Invitational Day Three Recap
After beginning the opening round in 11th before moving up to 7th, the FGCU women's golf team finished the final round with a 5th place finish among 15 teams as they wrapped up day three of the 41st Pat Bradley Invitational at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club in Bradenton, Florida, hosted by FIU.
The eventual winner of the overall invitational was the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP). The Miners finished with a final score of 862.
The overall individual winner was USF's Natalia Villavicencio, who shot a seven-under and final score of 209 while her fellow teammate Jacqueline Twitty finished third with four-under and a final score of 212.
The Eagles shot 283 (-5) as a team in the round, which sets a new 18-hole team program-low, topping the 284 (-4) they recorded just three weeks ago in the second round of the Johnie Imes Invitational. They also matched the 54-hole program-low set in that same tournament. Furthermore, Tuesday's round also represented the team's seventh sub-300 round of the fall season and its second consecutive top-5 finish.
"I am really proud of the way we finished today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said of her team's final fall event. "We really came back over the last two days, and I️ am so pleased. We had some really strong efforts from Laura, Natalia and Madeline today all shooting under par and helping us break another record. This is a big momentum push for us going into the spring, breaking the 18-hole record for the fourth time this season and tying the 54-hole record. We need to maintain our focus and work hard over the break, and I think big things are ahead of us."
Freshman Laura Edmonds shot a final-round 68 (-4) to lead a trio of under-par performances. The Argentinian would finish tied for 14th place with UTEP's Abbie Anghelescu and JU's Amanda Detmer with a final score of 217 (-1).
Sophomore Natalia Nassar (70, -2) and senior Madeline Marck-Sherk (71, -1) also finished below par.
Senior Kelsy Holbert shot a 74 (+2) to give the Eagles a second-consecutive tournament at a program-low 54-hole 876.
Senior Jean Tyrrell rounded out the lineup with a 234 (+18), which included a final-round 78.
Nassar sank a pair of birdies in each half of the round. The trio who went under par each had a team-high four birdies, while Edmonds played bogey-free. The Colombian native began the tournament.
Individual Standings
T-14. Laura Edmonds - 73-76-68---217 (+1)
T-17. Natalia Nassar - 79-69-70---218 (+2)
T-24. Madeline Marck-Sherk - 74-75-71---220 (+4)
T-33. Kelsy Holbert - 78-71-74---223 (+7)
T-68. Jean Tyrrell - 77-79-78---234 (+18)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #76 UTEP - 290-287-285---862 (-2)
2. #94 USF - 288-294-283---865 (+1)
3. #104 FIU - 300-285-283---868 (+4)
4. #150 Southern Mississippi - 286-295-292---873 (+9)
5. #116 FGCU - 302-291-283---876 (+12)
T-6. #161 Jacksonville - 301-288-293---882 (+18)
T-6. #155 Gonzaga - 300-293-289---882 (+18)
8. #178 McNeese State - 286-305-293---884 (+20)
9. #139 Cincinnati - 294-299-294---887 (+23)
10. #184 FAU - 309-299-291---899 (+35)
11. #160 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 301-305-296---902 (+38)
12. #209 UMKC - 306-302-296---904 (+40)
13. #141 Wyoming - 304-305-296---905 (+41)
14. #213 Eastern Michigan - 301-311-295---907 (+43)
15. #165 Georgia State - 307-305-299---911 (+47)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
McNeese State: "This is a great event that is loaded with quality teams," said head coach Mike Fluty. "I'm extremely proud of my team for showing we can hang with these strong team. We got out of our own way today and played relaxed but with a focused mindset."
"Our ball striking was excellent and it saved us two or three errant shots. Our most challenging issue continues to be putting, we are leaving a lot out on the greens every round. When the putts start dropping, we have the potential to really post low scores. I love our competitive grit and I can't be more proud of their performance this fall," said Fluty.
USF: "What a way to finish the fall. The girls were so high energy today. It was so lighthearted, the vibe was amazing and they just poured it on," said head coach Erika Brennan. "We got off to an awesome start, were slightly sluggish through the middle and gave a few back, but coming down the stretch they were just all heart and hustle. We me made some birdies late and really hung in there. To finish the fall with 18-hole school records and new 54-hole school records, that is such a testament to what these girls have done all fall. They are an absolute joy to coach and every day is just so fun. I think we're beginning to see some of those results that we know we're capable of."
"Nati was rock solid all tournament," said Brennan on Natalia Villavicencio's one-shot win. "She's grown so much this semester and it thrills us to no end to see that hard work paying off. A final-round 68 is strong and to get the medalist honors is so well-deserved for her. This will be a great catalyst heading into our offseason and will give her that extra boost heading into her final spring as a Bull."
Cincinnati: ""We are very proud of the ladies today," said head coach Janet Carol. "We started off on a tough side, but were able to get through those groups of holes and capitalize on some birdies on the back nine. Alyssa finished off a good three days with a 7th-place finish. The ladies are very close to breaking through with not just a good round, but a great round. We accomplished our outcome goals and can focus on that and prepare for our next event in 10 days."
Gonzaga: "Quynn (Duong) continues to impress with her ball striking and her competitive spirit," head coach Brad Rickel said. "She played great again today and had another great finish. I'm really proud of our team shooting 289 today on the final round with four great scores. Everyone competed to their fullest, and it was fun to be a part of such a great way to end the fall season."
JU: "It was a good tournament to end our fall season," said Head Coach Jennifer Borocz. "There was improvement from start to finish and that gives us good momentum going into the spring.
"We know what we need to work on in the offseason to get ready."
Texas A&M-CC: "Our goal today was to get off to a better start and we did that," said head coach Joni Stephens. "Good solid play by Daniela, Brooklyn and Autumn in today's round. Kellsey and Alex started out steady, but had some big numbers on the back side that kept them from finishing well. As a team, we hit a lot of greens and made more birdies today. Unfortunately, we had a lot of missed birdie opportunities; we were close all day but struggled to get the putts to drop. So that was a little disapointing. Moving forward, we have to continue to work on the mental side of the game, controlling the things we can and maintaining our focus and intensity throughout the entire round. I am excited about this team We have the ability to do some great things."
Wyoming: "I'm very proud of Sam (Hui) and her career low round today," head coach Josey Stender said. "She had great course management all week and really just had fun competing."
"As a team, we showed a lot of improvement—both individually and as a team. I know we are all looking forward to a productive offseason on the course and in the classroom."
Georgia State: “I’m proud that we shot our best score of the tournament today, but also disappointed that we didn’t finish higher up the leaderboard,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “I thought we did some good things this week, but there are areas that we have to become more consistent. We have a short turnaround but hopefully, we can get that going on Friday."
Up Next:
The 41st Pat Bradley Invitational would be the last tournament of the fall season, so the Eagles won't be competing until February 4, 2019 in the Mid-American Match Play Challenge at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club in Bradenton, Florida, co-hosted by FGCU and Bowling Green.
The eventual winner of the overall invitational was the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP). The Miners finished with a final score of 862.
The overall individual winner was USF's Natalia Villavicencio, who shot a seven-under and final score of 209 while her fellow teammate Jacqueline Twitty finished third with four-under and a final score of 212.
The Eagles shot 283 (-5) as a team in the round, which sets a new 18-hole team program-low, topping the 284 (-4) they recorded just three weeks ago in the second round of the Johnie Imes Invitational. They also matched the 54-hole program-low set in that same tournament. Furthermore, Tuesday's round also represented the team's seventh sub-300 round of the fall season and its second consecutive top-5 finish.
"I am really proud of the way we finished today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said of her team's final fall event. "We really came back over the last two days, and I️ am so pleased. We had some really strong efforts from Laura, Natalia and Madeline today all shooting under par and helping us break another record. This is a big momentum push for us going into the spring, breaking the 18-hole record for the fourth time this season and tying the 54-hole record. We need to maintain our focus and work hard over the break, and I think big things are ahead of us."
Freshman Laura Edmonds shot a final-round 68 (-4) to lead a trio of under-par performances. The Argentinian would finish tied for 14th place with UTEP's Abbie Anghelescu and JU's Amanda Detmer with a final score of 217 (-1).
Sophomore Natalia Nassar (70, -2) and senior Madeline Marck-Sherk (71, -1) also finished below par.
Senior Kelsy Holbert shot a 74 (+2) to give the Eagles a second-consecutive tournament at a program-low 54-hole 876.
Senior Jean Tyrrell rounded out the lineup with a 234 (+18), which included a final-round 78.
Nassar sank a pair of birdies in each half of the round. The trio who went under par each had a team-high four birdies, while Edmonds played bogey-free. The Colombian native began the tournament.
Individual Standings
T-14. Laura Edmonds - 73-76-68---217 (+1)
T-17. Natalia Nassar - 79-69-70---218 (+2)
T-24. Madeline Marck-Sherk - 74-75-71---220 (+4)
T-33. Kelsy Holbert - 78-71-74---223 (+7)
T-68. Jean Tyrrell - 77-79-78---234 (+18)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #76 UTEP - 290-287-285---862 (-2)
2. #94 USF - 288-294-283---865 (+1)
3. #104 FIU - 300-285-283---868 (+4)
4. #150 Southern Mississippi - 286-295-292---873 (+9)
5. #116 FGCU - 302-291-283---876 (+12)
T-6. #161 Jacksonville - 301-288-293---882 (+18)
T-6. #155 Gonzaga - 300-293-289---882 (+18)
8. #178 McNeese State - 286-305-293---884 (+20)
9. #139 Cincinnati - 294-299-294---887 (+23)
10. #184 FAU - 309-299-291---899 (+35)
11. #160 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 301-305-296---902 (+38)
12. #209 UMKC - 306-302-296---904 (+40)
13. #141 Wyoming - 304-305-296---905 (+41)
14. #213 Eastern Michigan - 301-311-295---907 (+43)
15. #165 Georgia State - 307-305-299---911 (+47)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
McNeese State: "This is a great event that is loaded with quality teams," said head coach Mike Fluty. "I'm extremely proud of my team for showing we can hang with these strong team. We got out of our own way today and played relaxed but with a focused mindset."
"Our ball striking was excellent and it saved us two or three errant shots. Our most challenging issue continues to be putting, we are leaving a lot out on the greens every round. When the putts start dropping, we have the potential to really post low scores. I love our competitive grit and I can't be more proud of their performance this fall," said Fluty.
USF: "What a way to finish the fall. The girls were so high energy today. It was so lighthearted, the vibe was amazing and they just poured it on," said head coach Erika Brennan. "We got off to an awesome start, were slightly sluggish through the middle and gave a few back, but coming down the stretch they were just all heart and hustle. We me made some birdies late and really hung in there. To finish the fall with 18-hole school records and new 54-hole school records, that is such a testament to what these girls have done all fall. They are an absolute joy to coach and every day is just so fun. I think we're beginning to see some of those results that we know we're capable of."
"Nati was rock solid all tournament," said Brennan on Natalia Villavicencio's one-shot win. "She's grown so much this semester and it thrills us to no end to see that hard work paying off. A final-round 68 is strong and to get the medalist honors is so well-deserved for her. This will be a great catalyst heading into our offseason and will give her that extra boost heading into her final spring as a Bull."
Cincinnati: ""We are very proud of the ladies today," said head coach Janet Carol. "We started off on a tough side, but were able to get through those groups of holes and capitalize on some birdies on the back nine. Alyssa finished off a good three days with a 7th-place finish. The ladies are very close to breaking through with not just a good round, but a great round. We accomplished our outcome goals and can focus on that and prepare for our next event in 10 days."
Gonzaga: "Quynn (Duong) continues to impress with her ball striking and her competitive spirit," head coach Brad Rickel said. "She played great again today and had another great finish. I'm really proud of our team shooting 289 today on the final round with four great scores. Everyone competed to their fullest, and it was fun to be a part of such a great way to end the fall season."
JU: "It was a good tournament to end our fall season," said Head Coach Jennifer Borocz. "There was improvement from start to finish and that gives us good momentum going into the spring.
"We know what we need to work on in the offseason to get ready."
Texas A&M-CC: "Our goal today was to get off to a better start and we did that," said head coach Joni Stephens. "Good solid play by Daniela, Brooklyn and Autumn in today's round. Kellsey and Alex started out steady, but had some big numbers on the back side that kept them from finishing well. As a team, we hit a lot of greens and made more birdies today. Unfortunately, we had a lot of missed birdie opportunities; we were close all day but struggled to get the putts to drop. So that was a little disapointing. Moving forward, we have to continue to work on the mental side of the game, controlling the things we can and maintaining our focus and intensity throughout the entire round. I am excited about this team We have the ability to do some great things."
Wyoming: "I'm very proud of Sam (Hui) and her career low round today," head coach Josey Stender said. "She had great course management all week and really just had fun competing."
"As a team, we showed a lot of improvement—both individually and as a team. I know we are all looking forward to a productive offseason on the course and in the classroom."
Georgia State: “I’m proud that we shot our best score of the tournament today, but also disappointed that we didn’t finish higher up the leaderboard,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “I thought we did some good things this week, but there are areas that we have to become more consistent. We have a short turnaround but hopefully, we can get that going on Friday."
Up Next:
The 41st Pat Bradley Invitational would be the last tournament of the fall season, so the Eagles won't be competing until February 4, 2019 in the Mid-American Match Play Challenge at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club in Bradenton, Florida, co-hosted by FGCU and Bowling Green.
FGCU VB vs FIU Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (18-6, 9-1 A-SUN) played their final non-conference matchup as they defeated FIU (14-8, 6-2 C-USA) 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-15). With the win, the Eagles are now 9-5 against the Panthers and enter a seven-match winning streak.
"I think FIU looked much improved," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We knew we were going to be in for a challenge. I thought the team stepped up, especially with the way we were blocking, and our floor defense was great. We had some moments offensively, a couple of stretch runs that I wish we could have controlled a little bit better, but I think that was more a function of some of the serving strategies that FIU was using."
The Panthers fought hard in the first set taking a lead as high as four points, but it did not seem to faze the Eagles as they claimed the first set.
The second set was not as hard for the Eagles when they claimed even with the Panthers take two one-point leads before the Eagles broke away with eight straight points to the end of the set.
For the third set, the Eagles pulled it off with seven straight points before the Panthers tried to fight back with six straight points of their own, but did little effect as they Eagles pulled away with another three straight set win. This was their 14th match of the season where they shutout their opponents and the 70th match under Botsford's reign.
To be honest, I thought FIU had a slight chance to beat us after taking the brief lead in the first set, and with their overall series record against us and their current season, I felt it was going to be unpredictable with them. Despite their previous two seasons where they did get at least 10 wins, anything is possible.
Offensively, it was sophomore Snowy Burnam that led the way for the Eagles. Burnam finished with 12 kills and seven digs.
"Snowy on the left side, to be able to play in a match like that without a single error, she just picked her spots," said Botsford on Burnam's performance. "I thought the decision-making we've seen over the last couple of weeks continues to improve. She's a little bit more terminal now than she was as her comfort level increases out there. She did a nice job."
Senior Maggie Rick had 21 assists to go with two kills and six digs. With her 21 assists, Rick now has 4,275 career assists and is now 134 shy of breaking Gigi Meyer's (4,408, 2011-14) all-time record. Not too far behind Rick, freshman Chelsea Lockey, who reached 300 assists against Jacksonville, finished with 11 assists to go with five digs, one kill and one ace. Lockey now has 323 assists.
Sophomore Cortney VanLiew finished behind Burnam with nine kills, four assists, an ace and three blocks. VanLiew now needs 11 more kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009-11) for the eighth-most career kills in the Division-I era. She needs 44 more to produce a top-10 single season in the era. She has a chance to become one of just four players with 400 or more kills in a season since 2007.
Defensively, it was once again freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (Burnam, senior Sharonda Pickering, juniors Dani Serrano and Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti, and freshman Tori Morris).
Axner finished with 26 digs, one assist and an ace. This was Axner's 12th match with at least 10 or more digs and her seventh with 20 or more digs. The Dublin, Ohio native nearly broke her own program record for most digs in a three-set match.
"Dana was great defensively," Botsford said. "We had a couple of conversations early on, like you're digging everything, but there's a couple other things that you need to do out there for us. She's such a competitive kid that she wants to do everything perfectly, and I can appreciate that. I'm very lucky to have that. The first set there was a couple assignments she missed, which doesn't happen often and didn't happen after that, so she quickly corrected it and played great."
The Block Party had a combined 21 blocks with Serrano leading the way with six. In fact, Serrano's six blocks (block assists) put her at 265 and is 16 away from passing Olivia Mesner's (265, 2011-14) all-time record. Serrano also has 312 total blocks and is 31 away from passing Mesner (342) in that category. In addition, I decided that VanLiew should be named a member of the Block Party.
Additionally, Serrano's 97 block assists this year now gives her the second (98, 2016) and third most in a season. She needs just five more to become the program's all-time single-season leader. Her 111 total blocks has tied Ashley Yance's 2009 total - in 32 fewer sets played - and sits just eight shy of moving past Yance for another record.
Serrano also added six kills to her regime. The Sanford native's six kills put her at 541 in her career.
Borgiotti, Pickering and Morris finished with four kills each. Borgiotti also had four blocks while Pickering and Morris finished with five blocks each.
"The blocking without a doubt is at it's best," said Botsford on the team's defense. "Sharonda is doing a good job, but there was a couple of things that happened out there today where we had some plays called 'out' from the blocking side of things, and what was coming at them changed."
"Watching from the sideline, the response of our blockers is when I finally realized that they get it because it was something we weren't expecting. They reacted accordingly in a way we would expect them (FIU) to, which doesn't really happen, but now it's instinctive, so I'm really pleased with the communication, and that's where it starts, talking things through and coming at them, and Dani spearheads all of that for us."
For the Panthers, senior Margherita Bianchin led the team offensively with 10 kills fie assists and an ace while freshman Abbie Hughes had 20 assists, seven kills and two aces.
Defensively, redshirt junior Lina Bernier finished with 19 digs.
The Eagles had a .350 hitting percentage in contrast to FIU's .057.
"I think we got to try to find a little bit more pressure on the service line," said Botsford. "We had it for spurts. I'd like to be a little more consistent all the way throughout, and I think first contact, we're a little bit up and down the last week and a half. We had a match that's great and then a match that was pretty average. We got to shorten that up a little bit, and I really don't want to be in two-person, so we got to find out the answer to that. All-in-all, the blocking and defense have been spectacular. We just got to continue to work."
Other A-SUN Matches:
"I think FIU looked much improved," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We knew we were going to be in for a challenge. I thought the team stepped up, especially with the way we were blocking, and our floor defense was great. We had some moments offensively, a couple of stretch runs that I wish we could have controlled a little bit better, but I think that was more a function of some of the serving strategies that FIU was using."
The Panthers fought hard in the first set taking a lead as high as four points, but it did not seem to faze the Eagles as they claimed the first set.
The second set was not as hard for the Eagles when they claimed even with the Panthers take two one-point leads before the Eagles broke away with eight straight points to the end of the set.
For the third set, the Eagles pulled it off with seven straight points before the Panthers tried to fight back with six straight points of their own, but did little effect as they Eagles pulled away with another three straight set win. This was their 14th match of the season where they shutout their opponents and the 70th match under Botsford's reign.
To be honest, I thought FIU had a slight chance to beat us after taking the brief lead in the first set, and with their overall series record against us and their current season, I felt it was going to be unpredictable with them. Despite their previous two seasons where they did get at least 10 wins, anything is possible.
Offensively, it was sophomore Snowy Burnam that led the way for the Eagles. Burnam finished with 12 kills and seven digs.
"Snowy on the left side, to be able to play in a match like that without a single error, she just picked her spots," said Botsford on Burnam's performance. "I thought the decision-making we've seen over the last couple of weeks continues to improve. She's a little bit more terminal now than she was as her comfort level increases out there. She did a nice job."
Senior Maggie Rick had 21 assists to go with two kills and six digs. With her 21 assists, Rick now has 4,275 career assists and is now 134 shy of breaking Gigi Meyer's (4,408, 2011-14) all-time record. Not too far behind Rick, freshman Chelsea Lockey, who reached 300 assists against Jacksonville, finished with 11 assists to go with five digs, one kill and one ace. Lockey now has 323 assists.
Sophomore Cortney VanLiew finished behind Burnam with nine kills, four assists, an ace and three blocks. VanLiew now needs 11 more kills to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009-11) for the eighth-most career kills in the Division-I era. She needs 44 more to produce a top-10 single season in the era. She has a chance to become one of just four players with 400 or more kills in a season since 2007.
Defensively, it was once again freshman Dana Axner and the Block Party (Burnam, senior Sharonda Pickering, juniors Dani Serrano and Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti, and freshman Tori Morris).
Axner finished with 26 digs, one assist and an ace. This was Axner's 12th match with at least 10 or more digs and her seventh with 20 or more digs. The Dublin, Ohio native nearly broke her own program record for most digs in a three-set match.
"Dana was great defensively," Botsford said. "We had a couple of conversations early on, like you're digging everything, but there's a couple other things that you need to do out there for us. She's such a competitive kid that she wants to do everything perfectly, and I can appreciate that. I'm very lucky to have that. The first set there was a couple assignments she missed, which doesn't happen often and didn't happen after that, so she quickly corrected it and played great."
The Block Party had a combined 21 blocks with Serrano leading the way with six. In fact, Serrano's six blocks (block assists) put her at 265 and is 16 away from passing Olivia Mesner's (265, 2011-14) all-time record. Serrano also has 312 total blocks and is 31 away from passing Mesner (342) in that category. In addition, I decided that VanLiew should be named a member of the Block Party.
Additionally, Serrano's 97 block assists this year now gives her the second (98, 2016) and third most in a season. She needs just five more to become the program's all-time single-season leader. Her 111 total blocks has tied Ashley Yance's 2009 total - in 32 fewer sets played - and sits just eight shy of moving past Yance for another record.
Serrano also added six kills to her regime. The Sanford native's six kills put her at 541 in her career.
Borgiotti, Pickering and Morris finished with four kills each. Borgiotti also had four blocks while Pickering and Morris finished with five blocks each.
"The blocking without a doubt is at it's best," said Botsford on the team's defense. "Sharonda is doing a good job, but there was a couple of things that happened out there today where we had some plays called 'out' from the blocking side of things, and what was coming at them changed."
"Watching from the sideline, the response of our blockers is when I finally realized that they get it because it was something we weren't expecting. They reacted accordingly in a way we would expect them (FIU) to, which doesn't really happen, but now it's instinctive, so I'm really pleased with the communication, and that's where it starts, talking things through and coming at them, and Dani spearheads all of that for us."
For the Panthers, senior Margherita Bianchin led the team offensively with 10 kills fie assists and an ace while freshman Abbie Hughes had 20 assists, seven kills and two aces.
Defensively, redshirt junior Lina Bernier finished with 19 digs.
The Eagles had a .350 hitting percentage in contrast to FIU's .057.
"I think we got to try to find a little bit more pressure on the service line," said Botsford. "We had it for spurts. I'd like to be a little more consistent all the way throughout, and I think first contact, we're a little bit up and down the last week and a half. We had a match that's great and then a match that was pretty average. We got to shorten that up a little bit, and I really don't want to be in two-person, so we got to find out the answer to that. All-in-all, the blocking and defense have been spectacular. We just got to continue to work."
Other A-SUN Matches:
Tuesday's Results
Liberty 3, Maryland Eastern Shore 1
North Florida 3, Jacksonville 0
Lipscomb 3, North Alabama 1
Liberty 3, Maryland Eastern Shore 1
North Florida 3, Jacksonville 0
Lipscomb 3, North Alabama 1
Up Next:
The Eagles continue their five-match homestead as they welcome A-SUN newcomer North Alabama on Friday, October 26 at 6 P.M. before Facing NJIT on Sunday, October 28 at 2 P.M.
The Eagles are looking for a sweep to both teams.
M. Golf: Pinetree Intercollegiate Day One Recap
A trio of players fired a second-round 71 as the FGCU men's golf team sits in seventh-place (595, +19) following the first day of the Pinetree Intercollegiate on Monday.
The Eagles were positioned in next to last place among the 11-team field following a 307 (+19) first round, but rebounded with an even-par 288 to jump three spots. They are only 11 strokes behind fourth place Austin Peay. Western Kentucky leads a trio of under-par teams at 570 (-6) heading into the final round.
"It was a tale of two teams out there," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "We redeemed ourselves in the afternoon after an awful first round, which puts us in position to creep up the leaderboard on Tuesday. I'm proud of how the team handled the adversity and disappointment of the first round."
Freshman Tate Heintzelman, senior Andrew Potter and freshman Chase Bigham each shot a 1-under 71 in the second round, followed by junior Brent Fredericksen (75) and sophomore Cole Castro (77).
Heintzelman led the team with a low two-round total of 145 (+2), which has him in a tie for 12th individually.
Potter and Castro are both also among the top 40 individuals as Potter's 149 (+5) is tied for 33rd, while Castro's 151 (+7) is good for a 39th-place tie.
Bigham had the best improvement from the first to second rounds by shaving 10 strokes off his 9-over 81. His two-round 152 (+8) has him tied for 42nd, while Fredericksen is tied for 53rd with a 157 (+13)
Individual Results
T-12. Tate Heintzelman - 74-71---145 (+1)
T-33. Andrew Potter - 78-71---149 (+5)
T-39. Cole Castro - 74-77---151 (+7)
T-42. Chase Bigham - 81-71---152 (+8)
T-53. Brent Fredericksen - 82-75---157 (+13)
Team Results (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #120 Western Kentucky - 294-276---570 (-6)
T-2. #109 Wisconsin - 286-286---572 (-4)
T-2. #50 Kennesaw State - 285-287---572 (-4)
4. #193 Austin Peay State - 292-292---584 (+8)
5. #86 Jacksonville State - 299-289---588 (+12)
6. #143 Mercer - 306-288---594 (+18)
7. #148 FGCU - 307-288---595 (+19)
8. #191 Elon - 300-297---597 (+21)
9. #94 Northern Illinois - 304-295---599 (+23)
10. #212 Nicholls State - 296-306---602 (+26)
11. #192 Belmont - 308-295---603 (+27)
The Eagles were positioned in next to last place among the 11-team field following a 307 (+19) first round, but rebounded with an even-par 288 to jump three spots. They are only 11 strokes behind fourth place Austin Peay. Western Kentucky leads a trio of under-par teams at 570 (-6) heading into the final round.
"It was a tale of two teams out there," FGCU head coach Eric Booker said. "We redeemed ourselves in the afternoon after an awful first round, which puts us in position to creep up the leaderboard on Tuesday. I'm proud of how the team handled the adversity and disappointment of the first round."
Freshman Tate Heintzelman, senior Andrew Potter and freshman Chase Bigham each shot a 1-under 71 in the second round, followed by junior Brent Fredericksen (75) and sophomore Cole Castro (77).
Heintzelman led the team with a low two-round total of 145 (+2), which has him in a tie for 12th individually.
Potter and Castro are both also among the top 40 individuals as Potter's 149 (+5) is tied for 33rd, while Castro's 151 (+7) is good for a 39th-place tie.
Bigham had the best improvement from the first to second rounds by shaving 10 strokes off his 9-over 81. His two-round 152 (+8) has him tied for 42nd, while Fredericksen is tied for 53rd with a 157 (+13)
Individual Results
T-12. Tate Heintzelman - 74-71---145 (+1)
T-33. Andrew Potter - 78-71---149 (+5)
T-39. Cole Castro - 74-77---151 (+7)
T-42. Chase Bigham - 81-71---152 (+8)
T-53. Brent Fredericksen - 82-75---157 (+13)
Team Results (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #120 Western Kentucky - 294-276---570 (-6)
T-2. #109 Wisconsin - 286-286---572 (-4)
T-2. #50 Kennesaw State - 285-287---572 (-4)
4. #193 Austin Peay State - 292-292---584 (+8)
5. #86 Jacksonville State - 299-289---588 (+12)
6. #143 Mercer - 306-288---594 (+18)
7. #148 FGCU - 307-288---595 (+19)
8. #191 Elon - 300-297---597 (+21)
9. #94 Northern Illinois - 304-295---599 (+23)
10. #212 Nicholls State - 296-306---602 (+26)
11. #192 Belmont - 308-295---603 (+27)
FGCU W. Golf: 41st Pat Bradley Invitational Day Two Recap
Sophomore Natalia Nassar fired a career-low 69 (-3) to lead the FGCU women's golf team to a second-round 291 (+3) at the 41st Annual Pat Bradley Invitational on Monday, which positions the team in a tie for seventh place entering Tuesday's final round with a 593 (+17).
The Eagles are tied with Cincinnati and Gonzaga, just two strokes behind McNeese State and four behind Jacksonville. UTEP leads with a 577 (+1).
"We played very solid and more like ourselves today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I️ really liked our attitudes out there and the way we bounced back today. It was a little more windy today, and I️ was pleased with the way the team kept their focus. Kelsy put up a nice round for us and Nat shot her FGCU career low. I️ am very proud of both of them. Laura struggled a little today but fought back and had a couple key birdies for us coming in. We are looking to put up another strong round on Tuesday and finish the tournament strong."
The Eagles bounced back in strong fashion from Sunday's 302 (+14) behind the play of Nassar and senior Kelsy Holbert, who had a 1-under 71.
Nassar opened on fire by shooting 3-under on the front nine. She bogeyed her 12th hole, but made it up on the 16th with her fourth birdie and is tied for 27th.
Holbert, meanwhile, picked up her 1-under on the front nine, finished even par on her back nine and sits in a tie for 30th individually with senior Madeline Marck-Sherk and freshman Laura Edmonds.
Marck-Sherk opened 3-over through her first 10 holes, but picked up her lone birdie on the 11th and finished even-par the rest of the way.
Edmonds finished strong with birdies on two of the final three holes to help push the team into a seventh-place tie overall.
Senior Jean Tyrrell rounded out the lineup with a 79 (+7). She is tied for 60th.
Live stats for Tuesday's final round will be available via BirdieFire.com here and posted at FGCUathletics.com.
Individual Standings
T-27. Natalia Nassar - 79-69---148 (+4)
T-30. Laura Edmonds - 73-76---149 (+5)
T-30. Kelsy Holbert - 78-71---149 (+5)
T-30. Madeline Marck-Sherk - 74-75---149 (+5)
T-60. Jean Tyrrell - 77-79---156 (+12)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #76 UTEP - 290-287---577 (+1)
2. #150 Southern Mississippi - 286-295---581 (+5)
3. #94 USF - 288-294---582 (+6)
4. #104 FIU - 300-285---585 (+9)
5. #161 Jacksonville - 301-288---589 (+13)
6. #178 McNeese State - 286-305---591 (+15)
T-7. #116 FGCU - 302-291---593 (+17)
T-7. #139 Cincinnati - 294-299---593 (+17)
T-7. #155 Gonzaga - 300-293---593 (+17)
10. #160 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 301-305---606 (+30)
T-11. #209 UMKC - 306-302---608 (+32)
T-11. #184 FAU - 309-299---608 (+32)
13. #141 Wyoming - 304-305---609 (+33)
T-14. #165 Georgia State - 307-305---612 (+36)
T-14. #213 Eastern Michigan - 301-311---612 (+36)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
McNeese State: "We had too much tension and wanting to play perfect today," said head coach Mike Fluty. "A few errant shots that resulted in penalty strokes combined with a tense mindset made for a challenging day. I'm proud of their effort, teamwork, and grit on the course. We will learn from every shot, every round, and apply those lessons to the next round. This is what we will do in tomorrow's final round."
USF: "Today was another solid day for us," said head coach Erika Brennan. "The wind was up and the girls stayed in the hunt. Jackie is so solid. She was one hole away from a bogey-free round and to post a red number today should give her a big boost for tomorrow. Natalia has made monumental strides on her mental game and it's awesome to see her being rewarded for that work. She is capable of taking it low on any given day. Sadie and Ramya continue to be steady and Haley battled to the finish as well. Tomorrow, we need to be steady and then aggressive when opportunities present themselves. It's awesome to be in the final group and in the hunt! These girls are poised for a great fall finish."
"Today we got off to a solid start only being 1-over through nine holes, said assistant coach Dalton Stevens. "We gave four shots away quickly on holes 10-11, which shows how well we finished to maintain our round. We got great performances out of Jackie and Natalia again today with rounds of 71 and 73. We are in a great position to do something special tomorrow. The ladies like where we are at, knowing that we can go out and play free and aggressive tomorrow to chase down the leaders."
Cincinnati: "It was somewhat of a frustrating day today," said head coach Janet Carol. "Coming down the stretch, we gave away too many shots. I'm still proud of the team for fighting through adversity. We just have to quit overthinking and overtrying. We still are in reach of our outcome and position goals and we have to go out and fight until the end tomorrow."
Gonzaga: "I am really proud of the fight in this team," head coach Brad Rickel said. "We learned some about the course yesterday, and while the conditions were a bit tougher, we played better. A bogey-free 67 for Quynn is just awesome. She played a great round of golf, and was very determined and focused. She does that again, and she will be tough to beat. I'm very happy with our team attitude and determination. We need to continue it tomorrow to maintain and move up."
JU: "We are really proud of the team for their comeback today," said Head Coach Jennifer Borocz. "The conditions were not easy out there. Both Louise and Maria rebounded well from yesterday's round."
Texas A&M-CC: "I was very pleased with the steady play again by Daniela and Brooklyn," said head coach Joni Stephens. "Our other players had difficulty out of the gate today, but I was proud of their effort to fight back to try to bring in good rounds. Unfortunately, it is difficult trying to play catch up. Kellsey made a valiant effort on her back nine, coming in with four birdies in her last seven holes. We have struggled getting off to a strong start during our last four competitive rounds. Tomorrow our goal is to start strong and to play with confidence from the first tee shot to the last putt."
Wyoming: "It was great to see individual improvement today and overall team consistency, head coach Josey Stender said. "We are close with a few teams and have a chance for a good finish if we can continue to give ourselves good looks on the greens. We've talked a lot about the hard work they have all put in so tomorrow is just about enjoying the last round of our fall season and playing to play great."
Georgia State: “We got off to a bit of a rough start today,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “The team kept fighting, but we just couldn’t make enough birdies to get it back. However, I know this team will continue to fight and on Tuesday we will see if we can climb the leaderboard a bit.”
The Eagles are tied with Cincinnati and Gonzaga, just two strokes behind McNeese State and four behind Jacksonville. UTEP leads with a 577 (+1).
"We played very solid and more like ourselves today," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I️ really liked our attitudes out there and the way we bounced back today. It was a little more windy today, and I️ was pleased with the way the team kept their focus. Kelsy put up a nice round for us and Nat shot her FGCU career low. I️ am very proud of both of them. Laura struggled a little today but fought back and had a couple key birdies for us coming in. We are looking to put up another strong round on Tuesday and finish the tournament strong."
The Eagles bounced back in strong fashion from Sunday's 302 (+14) behind the play of Nassar and senior Kelsy Holbert, who had a 1-under 71.
Nassar opened on fire by shooting 3-under on the front nine. She bogeyed her 12th hole, but made it up on the 16th with her fourth birdie and is tied for 27th.
Holbert, meanwhile, picked up her 1-under on the front nine, finished even par on her back nine and sits in a tie for 30th individually with senior Madeline Marck-Sherk and freshman Laura Edmonds.
Marck-Sherk opened 3-over through her first 10 holes, but picked up her lone birdie on the 11th and finished even-par the rest of the way.
Edmonds finished strong with birdies on two of the final three holes to help push the team into a seventh-place tie overall.
Senior Jean Tyrrell rounded out the lineup with a 79 (+7). She is tied for 60th.
Live stats for Tuesday's final round will be available via BirdieFire.com here and posted at FGCUathletics.com.
Individual Standings
T-27. Natalia Nassar - 79-69---148 (+4)
T-30. Laura Edmonds - 73-76---149 (+5)
T-30. Kelsy Holbert - 78-71---149 (+5)
T-30. Madeline Marck-Sherk - 74-75---149 (+5)
T-60. Jean Tyrrell - 77-79---156 (+12)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 16)
1. #76 UTEP - 290-287---577 (+1)
2. #150 Southern Mississippi - 286-295---581 (+5)
3. #94 USF - 288-294---582 (+6)
4. #104 FIU - 300-285---585 (+9)
5. #161 Jacksonville - 301-288---589 (+13)
6. #178 McNeese State - 286-305---591 (+15)
T-7. #116 FGCU - 302-291---593 (+17)
T-7. #139 Cincinnati - 294-299---593 (+17)
T-7. #155 Gonzaga - 300-293---593 (+17)
10. #160 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 301-305---606 (+30)
T-11. #209 UMKC - 306-302---608 (+32)
T-11. #184 FAU - 309-299---608 (+32)
13. #141 Wyoming - 304-305---609 (+33)
T-14. #165 Georgia State - 307-305---612 (+36)
T-14. #213 Eastern Michigan - 301-311---612 (+36)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
McNeese State: "We had too much tension and wanting to play perfect today," said head coach Mike Fluty. "A few errant shots that resulted in penalty strokes combined with a tense mindset made for a challenging day. I'm proud of their effort, teamwork, and grit on the course. We will learn from every shot, every round, and apply those lessons to the next round. This is what we will do in tomorrow's final round."
USF: "Today was another solid day for us," said head coach Erika Brennan. "The wind was up and the girls stayed in the hunt. Jackie is so solid. She was one hole away from a bogey-free round and to post a red number today should give her a big boost for tomorrow. Natalia has made monumental strides on her mental game and it's awesome to see her being rewarded for that work. She is capable of taking it low on any given day. Sadie and Ramya continue to be steady and Haley battled to the finish as well. Tomorrow, we need to be steady and then aggressive when opportunities present themselves. It's awesome to be in the final group and in the hunt! These girls are poised for a great fall finish."
"Today we got off to a solid start only being 1-over through nine holes, said assistant coach Dalton Stevens. "We gave four shots away quickly on holes 10-11, which shows how well we finished to maintain our round. We got great performances out of Jackie and Natalia again today with rounds of 71 and 73. We are in a great position to do something special tomorrow. The ladies like where we are at, knowing that we can go out and play free and aggressive tomorrow to chase down the leaders."
Cincinnati: "It was somewhat of a frustrating day today," said head coach Janet Carol. "Coming down the stretch, we gave away too many shots. I'm still proud of the team for fighting through adversity. We just have to quit overthinking and overtrying. We still are in reach of our outcome and position goals and we have to go out and fight until the end tomorrow."
Gonzaga: "I am really proud of the fight in this team," head coach Brad Rickel said. "We learned some about the course yesterday, and while the conditions were a bit tougher, we played better. A bogey-free 67 for Quynn is just awesome. She played a great round of golf, and was very determined and focused. She does that again, and she will be tough to beat. I'm very happy with our team attitude and determination. We need to continue it tomorrow to maintain and move up."
JU: "We are really proud of the team for their comeback today," said Head Coach Jennifer Borocz. "The conditions were not easy out there. Both Louise and Maria rebounded well from yesterday's round."
Texas A&M-CC: "I was very pleased with the steady play again by Daniela and Brooklyn," said head coach Joni Stephens. "Our other players had difficulty out of the gate today, but I was proud of their effort to fight back to try to bring in good rounds. Unfortunately, it is difficult trying to play catch up. Kellsey made a valiant effort on her back nine, coming in with four birdies in her last seven holes. We have struggled getting off to a strong start during our last four competitive rounds. Tomorrow our goal is to start strong and to play with confidence from the first tee shot to the last putt."
Wyoming: "It was great to see individual improvement today and overall team consistency, head coach Josey Stender said. "We are close with a few teams and have a chance for a good finish if we can continue to give ourselves good looks on the greens. We've talked a lot about the hard work they have all put in so tomorrow is just about enjoying the last round of our fall season and playing to play great."
Georgia State: “We got off to a bit of a rough start today,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “The team kept fighting, but we just couldn’t make enough birdies to get it back. However, I know this team will continue to fight and on Tuesday we will see if we can climb the leaderboard a bit.”
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