FGCU Swim & Dive vs Liberty, Buffalo, BGSU Preview

The FGCU swimming and diving team (4-5, 2-0 CCSA) return home from winter break as they open with their first meet of 2019 on Saturday, January 5 at 10 A.M. at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The Eagles welcome Buffalo (0-1, 0-1 MAC) and Bowling Green (7-0, 1-0 MAC) for the non-conference portion and Liberty (8-0, 2-0 CCSA) for CCSA play. This will be the first time FGCU faces Buffalo and Bowling Green State. In fact, Buffalo and BGSU will also be competing as a MAC Conference meet.

"We are going up against three teams who are very well coached and who are competing at a very high level," said head coach Dave Rollins. "Liberty and Buffalo are probably the best they have ever been, while Bowling Green is responding well to their new coach.  For us, it is great to get the team back together and compete again.  However, the important thing is to make sure everyone is getting healthy and approaching the next seven weeks as we head into the CCSA Championships with the right mindset and focus. We are dinged up. Nevertheless, we'll do our best to compete and win for FGCU. Time for us to step up as a team."

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a 171-91 CCSA Conference win against UNC Asheville to close out 2018

The Eagles were without three swimmers due to participating in international competitions: senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen, sophomore Rebecca Moynihan and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka.

Kaas Elmgreen competed in the 50 yard fly, 100 individual medley, and 200 fly at the Denmark National Championship. She finished fourth in the 50 fly before earning a silver medal in the IM and a bronze in the in the 200 fly.

Moynihan was competing in the World Championship in Hangzhou, China representing Swimming New Zealand. There she finished 14th in the mixed 4x50 medley relay, 15th in the women's 4x50 medley relay 20th in the mixed medley relay and 28th in the 50 meter freestyle. The New Zealander even set lifetime best records.

Czarnecka was competing in the Poland National Championship as she finished 10th in the 50 free and 6th in the 100 fly. Both were new lifetime best times and the 50 was her first ever championship final appearance.

Meanwhile back at the FGCU Aquatic Complex, the Eagles swept the UNC Asheville in four events (50 back, one meter dive, 50 butterfly and 100 individual medley).

Sophomore Petra Halmai (200 individual medley relay, 100 backstroke, and 100 individual medley), junior Cassidy Fry took first in events (100 butterfly, 200 free and and 200 free relay) and senior Doris Eichorn (200 individual medley relay, 50 butterfly and 200 free relay) took first in three events.

Seniors Hannah Burdge (200 freestyle relay and 50 free), Gracie Redding (200 freestyle relay) and Linda Shaw (100 freestyle), sophomores Courtney Chapin (50 backstroke), juniors Cassidy Fry (100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay), Madison Jean (200 medley relay) and Emily Glinecke (200 individual medley relay) also earned wins in their portions of the meet.

Meanwhile, the Eagles swept the one meter dive against Asheville by the trio of sophomore Megan Wakefield (1st, 272.77), senior Margot Kessler (2nd, 210.97) and junior Natalie Keffer (3rd, 192.15).

Weekly Awards:
As a result of their performances against UNC Asheville, Fry and Kessler earned their first weekly awards as they were named CCSA Swimmer (Fry) and Diver (Kessler) of the Week.

Fry's time in the 100 fly (56.01) was her fastest dual meet time of the season while playing a big part of the Eagles' first place finish in the 200 free relay (24.18). Fry also earned second places finishes in the 100 (53.86) and 200 freestyle (1:59.15).

"Cassidy continues to produce when asked," stated head coach Dave Rollins. "She was tasked with a challenging meet schedule, in heavy training, against UNC-Asheville, and to swim her fastest dual meet 100 fly of the season shows she is set up well for the rest of the season."

Kessler's score of 210.97 was the best of her collegiate career and marked her highest finish ever on the 1-meter board (previous: 206.15 at 2018 CCSA Championship).

"Margot's willingness to challenge herself and step out of her comfort zone has been beautiful to see," added Rollins. "For her to produce some of the best dives in her senior campaign, shows her fantastic improvement and it is exciting to see how she builds off this honor."

Scouting Buffalo:
The Bulls are coming off of a second place finish in the Zippy Invite, hosted by Akron. Their only dual meet so far was a loss to Akron (164-136) in the MAC Conference.

The Bulls broke four program records throughout the invite. In the swimming portion, sophomore Nicole Roitenberg and juniors Anna Vitolins, Andrea Ernst and Katelyn Burns broke the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:41.17. Roitenberg broke two records as she collected a third place finish in the 100 backstroke event with a time of 53.97, surpassing the former best time of 54.19 set by Julia Box in 2017, re-broke the program-best time in the 200 yard backstroke she set in 2017, claiming third place in the race with a time of 1.56.68.

Sophomore Olivia Sapio re-broke the program record in the 400 IM event, a record Sapio had set just two weeks prior in the Magnus Cup Invitational.

In the diving portion, freshman diver Jae Sarkis claimed a first place finish in the 3-meter diving event, garnering a score of 284.65 in the finals. Junior Olivia Gosselin also had a strong showing in the event, placing fourth with a score of 262.

Scouting BGSU:
The Falcons are coming off of a fourth place finish also in the Zippy Invite with Buffalo. Their last dual meet win was against Youngstown State (222-78) and have defeated Ball State in their first MAC Conference dual meet (206-94).

Freshman Daisy Platts has claimed wins in the 200 backstroke preliminary and finals in the Akron Invite and first place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.23) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.63) against Youngstown State.

Sophomore Sarah Hennings has also picked up first place finishes in the 200 medley relay (1:54.08), 200 butterfly (2:06.78), and the 100 butterfly (56.14).

In the diving portion, junior Talisa Lemke picked up wins in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. Lemke was awarded 372 points in the 3-meter category, and 309 points in the 1-meter category.

Scouting Liberty:
The Lady Flames are coming off of a second place finish in the Liberty Invitational while in dual competition, they are coming off of a two-day win against Marshall (251-200). In CCSA play, the Lady Flames defeated Campbell and Gardner-Webb.

In the swimming portion, the Lady Flames got first place victories from redshirt sophomore Mikayla Herich (1,650 freestyle: 16:50.16), and senior Alicia Finnigan (200 butterfly:1:56.33) earned individual wins while in the diving portion, freshman Olivia Robinson took first place in the platform dive.

Finnigan did participate in the 2018 USA Swimming Winter National Championships, Saturday, December 1 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The reigning CCSA Swimmer of the Year finished fifth in the 200 butterfly while already qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which will be held June 21-28, 2020 in Omaha, Neb. Finnigan leads the conference with a 200 fly time (1:56.33). In four meets this season, Finnigan has claimed four victories in the 200 fly.

Series History:
The Eagles hold a 7-0 overall series lead. The Eagles defeated the Lady Flames in the inaugural Triple Distance Classic, which was coincidentally on January 5, 2018. The TDC also involved Rutgers, Saint Louis and DIII Gustavus Adolphus College.

How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WSwim
Liberty: @LUSwimDive
Buffalo: @UBSwimDive
BGSU: @FalconSwimDive

The following events are as listed for the meet:
200 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
1m Diving
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
3m Diving
200 IM
400 Free Relay