FGCU S&D: CCSA Championship Day Three Recap

The FGCU swimming and diving team battled through the final events, collecting 542 points on day three of the CCSA Championships as the Eagles remain in second place behind Liberty.

"The team keeps battling which is what you love to see," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Starting the night off with a win is always huge for the team and to be able to carry that momentum throughout the night was incredible. Congratulations to Gracie and Petra on their wins tonight. We continue to accumulate new lifetime bests marks and season times which is incredible given the circumstances. With one more day of racing, it should prove to be just as or if not more exciting than today!"

FGCU shined in the A Final of the 100 fly, scoring a quartet Eagles in the top-8. Senior Gracie Redding captured her second event of the week, placing first with an NCAA 'B' time of 53.12*. Senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen (54.06) and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka (54.42*) finished third and fourth, respectively, as junior Cassidy Fry (54.93) rounded out the scoring placing eighth.

Junior Madison Jean (55.80*) and senior Kiley Eble (56.60*) finished 11th and 13th, respectively, to score valuable points for FGCU in the B Final.

In the 400 IM A Final, junior Elizabeth Zeiger gave a valiant effort and rallied to take third overall as she touched out with a mark of 4:21.19*.

The Eagles continued to score crucial points, this time in the A Final of the 200 free where they once again placed four swimmers in the top-8. Senior Linda Shaw placed second overall with a swim of 1:48.81* to score 31 points. Shaw has now placed in the top-3 of the 200 free in all her four years as an Eagle.

Meanwhile, senior Antonia Baeren (1:50.53*), sophomore Rebecca Moynihan (1:51.30), and senior Hannah Burdge (1:51.99) finished 6-7-8, respectively, to cap off the scoring.

In the 100 breast, sophomore Petra Halmai claimed FGCU's second overall event win of the night. The Hungary native produced a swim of 1:00.62* to take home the title. Her time was just .34 tenths of a second off from breaking a new school record. Junior Emily Glinecke was the other Eagle to score in the A Final, placing sixth with a time of 1:03.35.

Transitioning into the 100 back finals, senior Doris Eichhorn was edged out of first place by one-tenth of a second as she touched out with a time of 53.96*. Freshman Kellie Fischer was the second Eagle in the A Final, placing seventh (56.54*).

The final event of the night was a nail biter as the Eagles placed second in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Eichhorn, Halmai, Elmgreen, and Moynihan combined for a time of 3:38.29*, just three-tenths of a second shy from first place. In the process, it became the fourth-fastest time in program history, surpassing last year's runner-up team by eight-tenths of a second.

Notables
-Redding and Halmai are now the second-fastest performers in their respective events in school history.

- Czarnecka now sits ninth in program history in the 100 fly.

- Glinecke moved into eighth all-time in program history with her time in the 100 breast.

*Denotes season-best time

Standings
1. Liberty-1,366.5
2. FGCU-1190
3. Incarnate Word-773
4. Georgia Southern-698
5. Campbell-598.5
6. UNC Asheville-571
7. UNF-475
8. Gardner-Webb-464
9. Howard-335

Up Next:
The final day of the CCSA Championships will continue tomorrow with the prelims starting at 10 am and the final events at 6 pm (1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay).