The No. 1 FGCU women's soccer team (11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN) is gearing up for the postseason, as the team is set to compete in the A-SUN Championship semifinals at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The Eagles, who captured this year's A-SUN regular season title, were awarded a first-round bye and will face off against the winner of Friday night's 5 p.m. quarterfinal between No. 4 UNF (11-5-2, 5-2-1, A-SUN) and No. 5 Kennesaw State (10-7-0, 5-3-0 A-SUN).
The semifinal game at the Nest will be a white out and will be streamed on YouTube Live for fans that cannot attend.
FGCU's regular season title marked the ninth in program history and the team enters the postseason looking for its seventh tournament crown.
Awards and Accolades:
Prior to the tournament, the A-SUN presented awards to the players that did the best overall:
A-SUN Coach of the Year:
For the fifth time in his career, head coach Jim Blakenship was honored with the A-SUN Coach of the Year, which is the most of any other coach in the A-SUN. Blakenship led the Eagles to the 2019 A-SUN regular season championship, as well as the program's 11th-consecutive season with double-digit wins. The regular season crown was the ninth in program history and the team enters the postseason looking for its seventh tournament crown. This is the fifth Coach of the Year honor for Blankenship, . Earlier this season, Blankenship surpassed 400 career wins with a 2-1 FGCU victory over Creighton (Sept. 20). His 407 wins are the 10th-most among active DI coaches and his career win percentage (.743) also checks in at 10th on the all-time list.
A-SUN Player of the Year:
For the first time her career, senior Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova earned the A-SUN Player of the Year as well as a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team for the second time this season and on the A-SUN All-Academic Team. Popadinova paces the team with 22 points, which she has tallied from 10 goals and a pair of assists. She has contributed 13 points in conference play and recently checked into the top three of the FGCU all-time scorers list with 24 career goals.
A-SUN Goalkeeper of the Year:
The A-SUN Goalkeeper of the Year was earned by Liberty's Melody Jayroe. Jayroe has been exceptional all season including an impressive A-SUN campaign allowing just two goals in eight games. Jayroe and the backline played its best soccer during conference play as they did not allow an A-SUN team to score a goal during regulation. Jayroe ranks second in school history with 20 career shutouts, tied with Karen Blocker (2008-12), as the junior posted eight shutouts this season with 93 saves. The last goal Liberty has allowed during regulation was in the 43rd minute of the first half against James Madison on Sept. 19. This is the second postseason honor for Jayroe in her career as she was named to the 2017 Big South All-Freshman Team.
A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year:
For the first time this season, senior Lindsey Patton was named the A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year. A four-year starter for FGCU, Patton has played the full duration in all but once match this season. She anchors FGCU's back line, which has allowed just 14 goals this season, the lowest amount in the conference. She helped lead the team to a league-high eight shutouts and has helped limit opponents to an average of just eight shots per game. This is the third-consecutive season that she has earned First Team All-Conference recognition and she has been named to a postseason team in each of her three seasons in Fort Myers. She is the seventh Eagle to receive A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year recognition and the first to do so since Ashley Parks was selected in 2017. In addition to the aforementioned honors, Patton, a 3.93 GPA student majoring in Exercise Science, also received her third-consecutive all-academic selection.
A-SUN Freshman of the Year:
Kennesaw State's Becky Contreras was named A-SUN Freshman of the Year to go along with her Second Team selection, as well as her unanimous selection to the All-Freshman team. The freshman had a breakout first year with the team. Throughout 17 games, she tallied five goals and one assist, four goals of which were game winners. She also ranks fourth in the conference in shots with 59. She is the first Freshman of the Year recipient in Kennesaw State history.
A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Lipscomb's Olivia Doak was named the A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Doak, who was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, racked up a number of stats to lead the Bison's offense to its third-straight regular season title posting nine goals, five assists and 23 points while maintaining a 3.92 GPA.
A-SUN All-Conference First Team:
Joining Popadinova and Patton on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team is senior Marjorie "Ma" Boilesen. A now three-time First Team All-Conference selection, Boilesen paces the league with six assists and checks in at ninth in the A-SUN rankings with 16 points, despite missing one game due to injury. She has finished a pair of games with two goals and contributed five crucial points during the team's eight-match unbeaten streak (Sept. 15 – Oct. 17). This season, she cracked into the top four in the FGCU record book in both career assists (24) and career points (66). She is now just six assists away from overtaking the program record, having tallied four assists in the last four matches. Boilesen, a Management major, was also named to the all-academic team for the first time in her career and has posted a 3.41 GPA.
Other players that were named on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team are as listed:
Kennesaw State: Isabella Contreras
Liberty: Jayroe and Gabrielle Farrell
UNF: Hollyn Knight and Thais Reiss
North Alabama: Shelby Wall
Lipscomb: Maycie McKay and Doak
A-SUN All-Conference Second Team:
Senior Melissa Weck and junior Zoey Spitzer were named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team.
Weck had already established herself as one of the most decorated keepers in both school and conference history heading into this season. A three-time all-conference selection, she has been named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week six times throughout her career, including twice this season. The six selections are the second-most of any player in conference history. This year, she leads the conference in goals against (13) and wins (11) and has posted seven solo shutouts. She ranks third all-time in the FGCU record book in both career goals-against average (0.75) and saves (249) and her 34.4 career shutouts are three away from both the A-SUN and FGCU records.
This was the second time Spitzer was named to the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team. After opening up the season with an assist in the 2-0 victory over FIU (Aug. 22), she has gone on to play the full duration in all but two matches. Spitzer has played an important role in the team's league-high eight shutouts and has helped to direct a defense that has allowed just 14 goals, the lowest of any team in the A-SUN.
Other players that were named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team are as listed:
Kennesaw State: Kelsey Hahn and Becky Contreras
Liberty: Grace Spade
UNF: Hollyn Knight and Thais Reiss
North Alabama: Shelby Wall
Lipscomb: Maycie McKay and Doak
NJIT: Siani Magruder
A-SUN All-Freshman Team:
Louise Lillback was named a unanimous selection to the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. Lillback paces all conference freshmen in goals, assists and points, as well as goals scored in league play and conference points. Earlier this season, she was named A-SUN Player of the Week (Sept. 30) after having a hand in all three of the team's goals as FGCU downed North Alabama (Sept. 26); she scored twice and contributed an assist. She was the first freshman from FGCU to receive the honor since 2013. Though she has only started five games, she has been the first reserve to enter in the other 11.
The other freshman listed on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team are as listed:
Kennesaw State: Becky Contreras, Hayley Dekker and Camryn Simmons
Liberty: Spade
UNF: Devyn Encalada
Lipscomb: Molly Grant and Katia Hanger
NJIT: Molly Saylor
Jacksonville: Olivia Abdallah
Stetson: Maggie Struble
A-SUN All-Academic Team:
Joining Boilesen, Popadinova and Patton on the A-SUN All-Academic Team is senior Opal Curless and sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger.
This is the first postseason honor for Curless, who owns a 4.0 GPA as a Psychology major. She has started every game that she has played in during her two seasons at FGCU and has played the full duration in all but two matches this year. She tallied an assist during the team's 2-0 win over Northeastern (Sept. 8) and has played a large role in the Eagles' strong back line. Curless has helped the team to its league-high eight shutouts and has been successful at keeping the pressure off Weck, who has only had to face an average of four shots per game.
Brentlinger, a 4.0 GPA student majoring in biology, has been awarded with a spot on the all-academic team, marking the first postseason selection in her Eagle career. This season, she has been one of FGCU's go-to midfielders, having contributed five points off of one goal and three assists. She has started all but three matches for the Green and Blue and has assisted on two key goals in conference play: the first being Lillback's game-winner against North Alabama and the second being Boilesen's goal that forced the game against Lipscomb to end in a 1-1 draw.
Other players that were named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team are as listed:
Liberty: Grace Spade
UNF: Rhiannon Conelley
North Alabama: Wall
Lipscomb: Doak, McKay, Leah Cernicky,
NJIT: Siani Magruder
Stetson: Lily Ammon
"I'm excited and proud for all of our players that were honored," Blankenship said. "They've put a lot of work into this season and, obviously, to be rewarded for their effort means a lot to them. I know that they were really happy to be recognized among their peers and I could not be more excited for our team. We work for this (A-SUN Championship) all year and now it's time to get it done."
The Green and Blue:
The regular season title came down to the final weekend of conference play, as FGCU and Lipscomb were knotted up at 16 points apiece. In their final conference match of the season, the Eagles downed Stetson 3-2 (Oct. 27) to take over the top of the rankings. Later that night, the Bison defeated North Alabama by a score of 6-0 to match the Green and Blue once again.
Since the teams posted a 1-1 draw during their regular season matchup (Sept. 29), the tiebreaker came down to RPI, in which the Eagles held a 99-136 advantage over the Bison.
The spot in the postseason tournament marks the ninth-consecutive season that head coach Jim Blankenship's squad has achieved such a feat. In all but one season, FGCU has reached the A-SUN Championship match.
In her final season between the pipes, senior Melissa Weck has been dominant for the Eagles. She has posted seven individual shutouts and leads the conference having allowed just 13 goals. Her career goals-against average of 0.75 checks in at third in the FGCU record book and fifth in A-SUN history.
Scouting UNF:
North Florida clinched its spot in the postseason tournament after earning a 4-0 victory over the Stetson Hatters (Oct. 24). The team's 11 wins this season match the program's DI record.
The Eagles own a 1-0-0 edge over the Ospreys in the head-to-head tournament record. The last time the programs met in the postseason was during the quarterfinals of the 2011 season, where FGCU claimed a 2-1 victory.
Junior Thais Reiss leads UNF with 28 points, the second-most of any player in the conference. She leads the league in assists (six) and paces the team with 11 goals. In league play, she has found the back of the net three times and has contributed five assists.
In this year's regular season meeting between the two teams (Oct. 17), Popadinova found the back of the net in the 104th minute to hand the Eagles the double-overtime win. Weck was challenged throughout the match, but had answers to all of the Ospreys attempts, finishing the night with three highlight-reel stops.
Scouting Kennesaw State:
FGCU and Kennesaw State have met twice during the postseason, both of which have resulted in Eagle victories. The Green and Blue downed the Owls in the 2014 Championship, earning a 3-1 triumph. In 2016, the teams faced off in the semifinals where the Eagles grabbed a 2-1 win to advance to the championship game.
Redshirt-junior Tiffany Sornpao has started all 17 matches in net for the Owls. Her five conference shutouts are the second-most in the league and she has been scored on five times by A-SUN opponents.
Kennesaw State's offense has been well-balanced throughout the season, as 10 different Owls have found the back of the net. Freshman Becky Contreras leads the group with five goals, while junior Erin Harris paces the team with 12 points.
Earlier this season, FGCU hosted Kennesaw State at the Nest and handed the visiting team a 2-0 loss (Oct. 10). Lillback and senior Silvana Gordon scored for the Eagles as the team cruised past the Owls.
The Bracket:
The A-SUN Championship is a single-elimination tournament format that is played over the course of two weeks. The top six teams, based on the regular season standings, advance to the postseason. Each game is hosted by the highest remaining seed, including the championship, which is set for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 9.
While the Ospreys and the Owls travel to Fort Myers, No. 3 Liberty and No. 6 NJIT will travel to Nashville where the teams will battle to take on No. 2 Lipscomb.
The Flames and the Highlanders will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. The winner will advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. semifinal against the Bisons.
A-SUN Standings
1. FGCU * (19 points, 11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN)
2. Lipscomb * (19 points, 12-5-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN)
3. Liberty * (18 points, 10-6-2, 6-2-0 A-SUN)
4. UNF * (16 points, 11-5-2, 5-2-1 A-SUN)
5. Kennesaw State * (15 points, 10-7-0, 5-3-0 A-SUN)
6. NJIT * (10 points, 6-7-3, 3-4-1 A-SUN)
7. North Alabama (6 points, 6-10-0, 2-5-0 A-SUN)
T-8. Stetson (1 point, 2-13-2, 0-7-1 A-SUN)
T-8. Jacksonville (1 point, 0-12-3, 0-6-1 A-SUN)
* - Denotes clinched spot in A-SUN Championship
About Me
Jaco's Legacy
For my second feature story on an SCF athlete, I chose one with a legacy in volleyball: Sydney Jaco. We decided to meet up in a quiet place at the SCF Cafeteria and before we even started, I was nervous to do a story when she was the one that was nervous, but I did tell her that her older sister would probably be a little jealous, which we had a good laugh.
Jaco, a sophomore biology major and local product from Braden River High School named team captain, plays libero for the Manatees and has made marks in her own backyard with a strong bloodline in her family background.
How you might ask? Well to start it off, her father, David, was a professional heavyweight boxer who faced many bigs names like Mike Tyson and George Foreman while following the footsteps of her older sister, Brittany, an SCF alum that played two seasons for the Manatees (2013-14) while finishing with 832 career digs.
"My sister started middle school volleyball, and around the time we had a volleyball net in our backyard and that's how the Jaco family got into the volleyball life," said Jaco.
After completing her time at Braden River, while also playing for the club volleyball teams MAV, Coastline, & Wave, Jaco enrolled at SCF and despite not getting any offers to play collegiately, she got a strong connection to play on the volleyball team as a walk-on.
"By the time I was a sophomore or junior (at Braden River) I was in contact for a while with the assistant coach last year, Billie Timmons," said Jaco on enrolling at SCF. "So I thought 'I enroll at SCF, just like my sister did, play some volleyball there' in which I did try out and if I didn't make it, I'd still enroll as a student and that's what persuaded me to go."
"I didn't realize stats until the Pensacola Tournament last year and realized I was in second or third place at the time when it was early in the season and didn't know about 'digs' until I looked at my sister stats when she played."
Brittany finished her sophomore campaign with 555 digs before transferring to Barry University (NCAA DII). At the Pensacola Tournament last season, Jaco had a combined 126 digs in four matches.
"When I looked at her stats, I was like 'oh she only has 550 digs; I can do that' and from that day on, when I was in a match, it kind of pushed me to do better when I said 'you need digs these matches' because there's always that sister competition where I would be so close and say 'I can do it and beat her record'."
Low and behold last season, Jaco did in her freshman campaign as she finished with 784 digs (7.06 digs per set). In fact, the 784 digs were the second-highest not just in the Suncoast and in NJCAA Region 8, but in the nation as she finished behind Vincennes' Allison Ruddick (848 digs) while her digs per set was the highest in the nation.
"It was something I worked hard for," said Jaco on her freshman stats. "I never gave up, especially during games where I didn't play my best and what I could have done better in and you never really let that hold you back and just keep pushing to do her best.
Jaco also has her share of memorable moments from several matches such as a win over Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in the Miami Dade Tournament last season to doing things outside of volleyball like watching scary movies.
"Last year we did a lot of movie nights where we'd go to someone's apartment and watch something like Scooby-Doo and enjoy the time we had with each other while getting along so well," said Jaco on doing stuff outside of volleyball.
In her first year at SCF, Jaco said she was feeling nervous while playing on a whole new team with many different faces from all over the world, but continued to push herself as she kept playing.
It was very scary at first," said Jaco on the new team adjustment. "I grew up a lot with club seasons where you get put on a team with people you don't know at all, which I have my experiences with. But this time, it was very different because it wasn't from people in my area, especially with internationals."
Jaco did have one close ally her freshman year in Emily Sauceda, who came from Sarasota High School.
"I don't think I've ever known or gotten close to someone that's from a different country and the bonds you form with them are very scary," said Jaco on teaming with Sauceda. "I was thankful enough to kind of know Emily (Sauceda) because she's from Sarasota and I played a couple of times with her, and that helped me out in the beginning when you find people you know and bond together like a family which becomes completely normal"
Throughout her two years at SCF, Jaco is a five-time FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week, one time NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week was named to the FCSAA and Suncoast All-Academic teams and the FCSAA 25 Dig Club 17 times, which includes five this season.
When I mentioned her 1,000th career dig in the match against Webber International JV (NAIA), Jaco said that didn't realize it at the moment because they were not hitting to her often and then said to "I wonder how you found out about that?" We had a good laugh about that.
Jaco's plans are to still try and play volleyball collegiately and possibly even further, but her back up plan is to go to medical school and play volleyball on the side while potentially planning to travel as part of one of big things she wants to do.
Jaco has brought a big part of a legacy from her family to SCF after taking over for Brittany, and I'm very glad to have seen her play and do a story on a phenomenal player like herself. Wherever Jaco's journey takes her, whether it's in the medical field or on the volleyball court (indoor or beach), her journey with SCF may be coming to a close but it is far from over where the wind will take her.
Jaco, a sophomore biology major and local product from Braden River High School named team captain, plays libero for the Manatees and has made marks in her own backyard with a strong bloodline in her family background.
How you might ask? Well to start it off, her father, David, was a professional heavyweight boxer who faced many bigs names like Mike Tyson and George Foreman while following the footsteps of her older sister, Brittany, an SCF alum that played two seasons for the Manatees (2013-14) while finishing with 832 career digs.
"My sister started middle school volleyball, and around the time we had a volleyball net in our backyard and that's how the Jaco family got into the volleyball life," said Jaco.
After completing her time at Braden River, while also playing for the club volleyball teams MAV, Coastline, & Wave, Jaco enrolled at SCF and despite not getting any offers to play collegiately, she got a strong connection to play on the volleyball team as a walk-on.
"By the time I was a sophomore or junior (at Braden River) I was in contact for a while with the assistant coach last year, Billie Timmons," said Jaco on enrolling at SCF. "So I thought 'I enroll at SCF, just like my sister did, play some volleyball there' in which I did try out and if I didn't make it, I'd still enroll as a student and that's what persuaded me to go."
"I didn't realize stats until the Pensacola Tournament last year and realized I was in second or third place at the time when it was early in the season and didn't know about 'digs' until I looked at my sister stats when she played."
Brittany finished her sophomore campaign with 555 digs before transferring to Barry University (NCAA DII). At the Pensacola Tournament last season, Jaco had a combined 126 digs in four matches.
"When I looked at her stats, I was like 'oh she only has 550 digs; I can do that' and from that day on, when I was in a match, it kind of pushed me to do better when I said 'you need digs these matches' because there's always that sister competition where I would be so close and say 'I can do it and beat her record'."
Low and behold last season, Jaco did in her freshman campaign as she finished with 784 digs (7.06 digs per set). In fact, the 784 digs were the second-highest not just in the Suncoast and in NJCAA Region 8, but in the nation as she finished behind Vincennes' Allison Ruddick (848 digs) while her digs per set was the highest in the nation.
"It was something I worked hard for," said Jaco on her freshman stats. "I never gave up, especially during games where I didn't play my best and what I could have done better in and you never really let that hold you back and just keep pushing to do her best.
Jaco also has her share of memorable moments from several matches such as a win over Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in the Miami Dade Tournament last season to doing things outside of volleyball like watching scary movies.
"Last year we did a lot of movie nights where we'd go to someone's apartment and watch something like Scooby-Doo and enjoy the time we had with each other while getting along so well," said Jaco on doing stuff outside of volleyball.
In her first year at SCF, Jaco said she was feeling nervous while playing on a whole new team with many different faces from all over the world, but continued to push herself as she kept playing.
It was very scary at first," said Jaco on the new team adjustment. "I grew up a lot with club seasons where you get put on a team with people you don't know at all, which I have my experiences with. But this time, it was very different because it wasn't from people in my area, especially with internationals."
Jaco did have one close ally her freshman year in Emily Sauceda, who came from Sarasota High School.
"I don't think I've ever known or gotten close to someone that's from a different country and the bonds you form with them are very scary," said Jaco on teaming with Sauceda. "I was thankful enough to kind of know Emily (Sauceda) because she's from Sarasota and I played a couple of times with her, and that helped me out in the beginning when you find people you know and bond together like a family which becomes completely normal"
Throughout her two years at SCF, Jaco is a five-time FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week, one time NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week was named to the FCSAA and Suncoast All-Academic teams and the FCSAA 25 Dig Club 17 times, which includes five this season.
When I mentioned her 1,000th career dig in the match against Webber International JV (NAIA), Jaco said that didn't realize it at the moment because they were not hitting to her often and then said to "I wonder how you found out about that?" We had a good laugh about that.
Jaco's plans are to still try and play volleyball collegiately and possibly even further, but her back up plan is to go to medical school and play volleyball on the side while potentially planning to travel as part of one of big things she wants to do.
Jaco has brought a big part of a legacy from her family to SCF after taking over for Brittany, and I'm very glad to have seen her play and do a story on a phenomenal player like herself. Wherever Jaco's journey takes her, whether it's in the medical field or on the volleyball court (indoor or beach), her journey with SCF may be coming to a close but it is far from over where the wind will take her.
FGCU S&D vs Houston Preview
Fresh off its first dual win over an SEC opponent, the FGCU swimming & diving team (5-0, 4-0 CCSA) will remain at the FGCU Aquatics Complex to host the University of Houston (3-0, 2-0 American) in a two-day meet from Friday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 2. The first leg of the meet is set to begin on Friday at 4 p.m. and will feature a Halloween costume contest for fans in attendance. On Saturday, the teams will re-convene at the Nest at 11:30 a.m. to wrap up the events.
The Green and Blue:
The Eagles swept this week's CCSA awards, as it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that junior Petra Halmai and freshman Reese Wakefield were named swimmer and diver of the week, respectively. Halmai picked up three individual first-place finishes during the team's meet against the Commodores, while Wakefield swept both the 1m and 3m boards for her second-straight outing.
Halmai laid down pair of times that rank among the country's best; her time in the 200 Breast (2:11.36) checks in at fifth in the nation and her 100 Breast (1:01.18) performance ranks 12th. Wakefield posted an NCAA Zone score in the 1m dive, tallying up 270.86 points.
In the meet against Vanderbilt, the Green and Blue earned first-place finishes in 10 of the 16 events en route to claiming the team's final 172-121 victory. The triumph extended the team's start to the season to a 5-0 run, marking the best the program has done since 2015-16. That year, FGCU went 7-0 before dropping its first dual meet.
This weekend's meet will be the Eagles' last at the Nest this semester. The Green and Blue will hit the road to take on competition in Ohio and Michigan before heading to Texas to compete in the Cougars' Phil Hansel Invitational.
The Cougars:
Houston will travel to Fort Myers looking to continue its unbeaten streak in dual meets. The Cougars opened their season with a victory over CCSA member Incarnate Word 204-158 (Sept. 27). Since then, Houston has picked up wins over Tulane (Oct. 3) and SMU (Oct. 23).
Senior Peyton Kondis returns to this year's team after representing the Cougars at last season's NCAA Championships. She has earned a spot in the postseason meet for the past two consecutive years. In addition to Kondis, Houston was represented by a trio of divers that competed at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Senior Lauren Burrell, sophomore Katie Deininger and sophomore Makayla Waller all competed for the team.
Similar to the FGCU, Houston has dominated its conference over the years. The Cougars have won three-straight titles in the American and have finished in the top three in four of the past six seasons. This year, Houston has already defeated conference rival SMU by a score of 190-104.
The Green and Blue:
The Eagles swept this week's CCSA awards, as it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that junior Petra Halmai and freshman Reese Wakefield were named swimmer and diver of the week, respectively. Halmai picked up three individual first-place finishes during the team's meet against the Commodores, while Wakefield swept both the 1m and 3m boards for her second-straight outing.
Halmai laid down pair of times that rank among the country's best; her time in the 200 Breast (2:11.36) checks in at fifth in the nation and her 100 Breast (1:01.18) performance ranks 12th. Wakefield posted an NCAA Zone score in the 1m dive, tallying up 270.86 points.
In the meet against Vanderbilt, the Green and Blue earned first-place finishes in 10 of the 16 events en route to claiming the team's final 172-121 victory. The triumph extended the team's start to the season to a 5-0 run, marking the best the program has done since 2015-16. That year, FGCU went 7-0 before dropping its first dual meet.
This weekend's meet will be the Eagles' last at the Nest this semester. The Green and Blue will hit the road to take on competition in Ohio and Michigan before heading to Texas to compete in the Cougars' Phil Hansel Invitational.
The Cougars:
Houston will travel to Fort Myers looking to continue its unbeaten streak in dual meets. The Cougars opened their season with a victory over CCSA member Incarnate Word 204-158 (Sept. 27). Since then, Houston has picked up wins over Tulane (Oct. 3) and SMU (Oct. 23).
Senior Peyton Kondis returns to this year's team after representing the Cougars at last season's NCAA Championships. She has earned a spot in the postseason meet for the past two consecutive years. In addition to Kondis, Houston was represented by a trio of divers that competed at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Senior Lauren Burrell, sophomore Katie Deininger and sophomore Makayla Waller all competed for the team.
Similar to the FGCU, Houston has dominated its conference over the years. The Cougars have won three-straight titles in the American and have finished in the top three in four of the past six seasons. This year, Houston has already defeated conference rival SMU by a score of 190-104.
FGCU VB vs Liberty Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN) pulled away with at home for A-SUN play as they shutout Liberty (14-9, 7-4 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-22). With the win, the Eagles are now 4-1 against the Flames and have split the series. In addition the win, FGCU not only extended its season-best winning streak to 12 and stayed in sole possession of first place in the A-SUN standings, but they have also won 19 consecutive sets, while also remaining undefeated at home (10-0).
The Eagles have tied Creighton and New Mexico State for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally. They are four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
FGCU - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Meanwhile, FGCU's set streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight. Additionally, FGCU is now tied with Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee for the second-most wins in the nation behind Western Kentucky (23).
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
FGCU - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
"We found offense in some different places," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Snowy had a huge offensive output for us. Tori obviously early on. Dani was having some success on the offensive end. So, I think it was a little easier to distribute. It makes it harder to defend us. We didn't hit for some outstanding numbers but we got a lot of good looks at some different locations along the net. So, that made things a little easier and the defense continued to do what it's been doing all season."
"FGCU played really consistent tonight and we didn't," said Liberty head coach Trevor Johnson. "I think we saw glimpses of how great we can be. We could never get into any kind of rhythm and sustain it. The leadership of Hannah and Anna has been awesome all year and I'm proud of what they bring in day in and day out. One practice to get better tomorrow and the Lipscomb Thursday. We need you Flames Nation on Thursday!"
Offensively, it was freshman Erin Shoemaker that led the Eagles. Shoemaker finished with a team-leading 10 kills and three digs, while sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam had eight kills each. Morris added two digs and solo block, while Burnam added seven digs and three blocks.
"Tori and Snowy were outstanding, right from the start," Botsford said. "Tori what she was doing at the net, impacting their hitters, but probably the most significant thing was what she did offensively. And because of the quick start she had, it started to open things up because they had to make sure they were honoring her presence up there. And that was part of the reason Snowy had the success she had and that started to move around the court."
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey finished with 35 assists, one kill, two blocks and three digs.
Although her offensive game was a struggle, junior Cortney VanLiew finished with seven kills, 16 digs, an assist, an ace and two blocks.
Defensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano and sophomore Dana Axner that led the Eagles. Serrano finished offensively with six kills, but lead the way with seven blocks (one solo), while Axner finished with 16 digs.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had an ace and three digs while junior Alayna Ryan had an ace, an assist and a dig.
Senior Casey Goodwin and redshirt junior Amelia Johnson lead the Lady Flames with nine kills each, while senior Hannah Morris had a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, senior Anna Gragg had five blocks while junior Macy Phillips had 20 digs.
In the opening set, FGCU produced a pair of 5-0 runs that proved crucial. The first one was capped by a kill from VanLiew and put the Eagles up 15-8, while the final run came to close the set and featured a pair of kills from Shomaker, including a ferocious overpass kill on the set-winner.
Another kill from VanLiew capped a 12-2 run for the Eagles early in the second set, but the Flames responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to three. Despite that, FGCU didn't let their lead dip below that mark as Morris and Burnam capped the set with back-to-back kills.
The final set saw Liberty take several leads including a 14-13 advantage following a 3-0 run. Shomaker and VanLiew, though, answered with back-to-back kills to spur a 5-1 run for the Green and Blue. Although the teams exchanged the final eight points back and forth, FGCU never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the way.
Notes:
Morris' solo block put her at 145 in her career and needs nine to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Burnam's eight kills put her at 597 and remains three shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 53 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam's seven digs put her at 543 and needs 10 to surpass Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Burnam's three blocks were all block assists that put her at career total blocking at 167 (156 block assists) surpassing Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time and tying Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in block assists is a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll for the top 10 as Carroll has 157 block assists (six this season), while the milestone for total blocks is Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time.
Lockey's 35 assists put her at 1,293 career assists and needs 112 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,107 and needs 26 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. Meanwhile her 16 digs put her at 708 in her career as she became the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs. Her next milestone is Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano's six kills put her at 774 in her career and needs 26 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 64 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 445 and needs 30 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,035 and needs 50 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 133 in her career and need eight to to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader while her three digs put her at 1,184.
Botsford earned his 137th career win with the Eagles (378th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 288th career win (315th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 76th.
The Eagles clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament with Tuesday's win and have also now won 10 or more matches in conference play in six consecutive seasons.
A-SUN Scores:
Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN) 3-0 Tuesday morning at home. The Owls will return to action Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm as they remain at home to take on Lipscomb. The Highlanders will return to action Friday night, November 1 at home as they welcome UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) to Newark.
The Flames will return to action on Halloween as they return home to take on Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN) at 7 pm.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) will be in action at home as they welcome Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm. The Dolphins will play North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) on Halloween night in Jacksonville at 7 pm.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for their final two home matches on the weekend as they welcome Stetson Friday night, November 1 at 7 pm before playing UNF Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. The match will be dubbed as senior night for Giovanna Borgiotti, Daniele Serrano and Amanda Carroll, while the match vs UNF will be dubbed as a green out.
The Eagles have tied Creighton and New Mexico State for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally. They are four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
FGCU - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Meanwhile, FGCU's set streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight. Additionally, FGCU is now tied with Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee for the second-most wins in the nation behind Western Kentucky (23).
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
FGCU - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
"We found offense in some different places," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Snowy had a huge offensive output for us. Tori obviously early on. Dani was having some success on the offensive end. So, I think it was a little easier to distribute. It makes it harder to defend us. We didn't hit for some outstanding numbers but we got a lot of good looks at some different locations along the net. So, that made things a little easier and the defense continued to do what it's been doing all season."
"FGCU played really consistent tonight and we didn't," said Liberty head coach Trevor Johnson. "I think we saw glimpses of how great we can be. We could never get into any kind of rhythm and sustain it. The leadership of Hannah and Anna has been awesome all year and I'm proud of what they bring in day in and day out. One practice to get better tomorrow and the Lipscomb Thursday. We need you Flames Nation on Thursday!"
Offensively, it was freshman Erin Shoemaker that led the Eagles. Shoemaker finished with a team-leading 10 kills and three digs, while sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam had eight kills each. Morris added two digs and solo block, while Burnam added seven digs and three blocks.
"Tori and Snowy were outstanding, right from the start," Botsford said. "Tori what she was doing at the net, impacting their hitters, but probably the most significant thing was what she did offensively. And because of the quick start she had, it started to open things up because they had to make sure they were honoring her presence up there. And that was part of the reason Snowy had the success she had and that started to move around the court."
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey finished with 35 assists, one kill, two blocks and three digs.
Although her offensive game was a struggle, junior Cortney VanLiew finished with seven kills, 16 digs, an assist, an ace and two blocks.
Defensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano and sophomore Dana Axner that led the Eagles. Serrano finished offensively with six kills, but lead the way with seven blocks (one solo), while Axner finished with 16 digs.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had an ace and three digs while junior Alayna Ryan had an ace, an assist and a dig.
Senior Casey Goodwin and redshirt junior Amelia Johnson lead the Lady Flames with nine kills each, while senior Hannah Morris had a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, senior Anna Gragg had five blocks while junior Macy Phillips had 20 digs.
In the opening set, FGCU produced a pair of 5-0 runs that proved crucial. The first one was capped by a kill from VanLiew and put the Eagles up 15-8, while the final run came to close the set and featured a pair of kills from Shomaker, including a ferocious overpass kill on the set-winner.
Another kill from VanLiew capped a 12-2 run for the Eagles early in the second set, but the Flames responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to three. Despite that, FGCU didn't let their lead dip below that mark as Morris and Burnam capped the set with back-to-back kills.
The final set saw Liberty take several leads including a 14-13 advantage following a 3-0 run. Shomaker and VanLiew, though, answered with back-to-back kills to spur a 5-1 run for the Green and Blue. Although the teams exchanged the final eight points back and forth, FGCU never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the way.
Notes:
Morris' solo block put her at 145 in her career and needs nine to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Burnam's eight kills put her at 597 and remains three shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 53 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam's seven digs put her at 543 and needs 10 to surpass Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Burnam's three blocks were all block assists that put her at career total blocking at 167 (156 block assists) surpassing Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time and tying Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in block assists is a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll for the top 10 as Carroll has 157 block assists (six this season), while the milestone for total blocks is Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time.
Lockey's 35 assists put her at 1,293 career assists and needs 112 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,107 and needs 26 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. Meanwhile her 16 digs put her at 708 in her career as she became the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs. Her next milestone is Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano's six kills put her at 774 in her career and needs 26 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 64 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 445 and needs 30 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,035 and needs 50 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 133 in her career and need eight to to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader while her three digs put her at 1,184.
Botsford earned his 137th career win with the Eagles (378th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 288th career win (315th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 76th.
The Eagles clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament with Tuesday's win and have also now won 10 or more matches in conference play in six consecutive seasons.
A-SUN Scores:
Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN) 3-0 Tuesday morning at home. The Owls will return to action Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm as they remain at home to take on Lipscomb. The Highlanders will return to action Friday night, November 1 at home as they welcome UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) to Newark.
The Flames will return to action on Halloween as they return home to take on Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN) at 7 pm.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) will be in action at home as they welcome Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm. The Dolphins will play North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) on Halloween night in Jacksonville at 7 pm.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (14-9, 7-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for their final two home matches on the weekend as they welcome Stetson Friday night, November 1 at 7 pm before playing UNF Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. The match will be dubbed as senior night for Giovanna Borgiotti, Daniele Serrano and Amanda Carroll, while the match vs UNF will be dubbed as a green out.
FGCU MGOLF: Intercollegiate at Innisbrook Day Two Recap
J.T. Barker posted a third-round 74 to lead the FGCU men's golf team on the final day of action at the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook. Barker finished with a three-day total of 223 to finish tied alongside Doug Smith for 48th individually. As a team, the Eagles concluded the two-day tournament in 15th overall with a total score of 908 after shooting 307 on Tuesday.
Barker's 74 on Tuesday gave him a three-round average of 74.33 with his low score of 73 coming in the first round. Smith finished Tuesday with a score of 77 and held the lowest individual score among the Eagles after shooting 69 in Monday's first round.
Alongside Smith, Tyler Carson also shot 77 in Tuesday's third round followed by Luke Farmer's score of 79. Brent Fredericksen recorded an 82 to round out the FGCU five-some.
James Madison won the overall team title with a three-day score of 844. The Eagles finished just behind William & Mary and Temple who each tied for 13th with a team score of 902.
The Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday, Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
FGCU DAY ONE RESULTS (FINAL)
15 Florida Gulf Coast University 295 306 307 908
T48 Doug Smith (1) 69 77 77 223
T48 J.T. Barker (3) 73 76 74 223
T71 Luke Farmer (4) 74 76 79 229
T83 Tyler Carlson (2) 80 77 77 234
86 Brent Fredericksen (5) 79 78 82 239
TEAM SCORES (FINAL)
1 - No. 61 James Madison - 286-276-282--844
2 - No. 62 Campbell - 281-281-283--845
t3 - No. 39 South Florida - 282-285-287--854
t3 - No. 49 Memphis - 287-278-289--854
t5 - No. 28 Houston - 292-280-292--864
t5 - No. 68 East Carolina - 290-288-286--864
7 - No. 108 Maryland - 285-288-297--870
8 - No. 16 UCF - 297-289-290--876
9 - No. 130 USC Upstate - 297-294-291--883
10 - No. 217 Wichita State - 295-290-302--887
11 - No. 213 Delaware - 295-289-306--890
12 - No. 260 Houston Baptist - 303-291-304--898
t13 - No. 172 William & Mary - 308-294-300--902
t13 - No. 207 Temple - 305-299-298--902
15 - No. 257 FGCU - 295-306-307--908
16 - No. 205 Hartford - 318-302-306--926
Quotes From Other Coaches:
James Madison: "This was a really good win on a really tough final-day setup," said head coach Jeff Forbes. "To come here and perform the way we did, taking home the trophy against some really good programs, is an outstanding way to end the fall. We also know that we still have improvements to make over the winter as we get ready for a really challenging spring schedule."
Campbell: "We had a great tournament and played extremely well this week, and it came down to the final hole where the young man from JMU made a 30-foot birdie putt," said Campbell head coach John Crooks. "Pontus had a great event to win his first collegiate tournament. This group is special."
USF: "Obviously, we're a little disappointed we didn't quite meet our standards of what we came here to achieve, but we battled the whole time," said assistant coach Brad Caldwell. "There was no give-up in the guys, the effort was there. We just didn't execute as good as we needed to at times on a hard golf course. All in all, it was a good fall. It wasn't a great fall, but I think our ceiling is really high. We've got 115 days until we play our next event and we gotta get better. We have to learn from our mistakes, work on our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. If we do that come April, we're gonna be a really good team."
Barker's 74 on Tuesday gave him a three-round average of 74.33 with his low score of 73 coming in the first round. Smith finished Tuesday with a score of 77 and held the lowest individual score among the Eagles after shooting 69 in Monday's first round.
Alongside Smith, Tyler Carson also shot 77 in Tuesday's third round followed by Luke Farmer's score of 79. Brent Fredericksen recorded an 82 to round out the FGCU five-some.
James Madison won the overall team title with a three-day score of 844. The Eagles finished just behind William & Mary and Temple who each tied for 13th with a team score of 902.
The Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday, Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
FGCU DAY ONE RESULTS (FINAL)
15 Florida Gulf Coast University 295 306 307 908
T48 Doug Smith (1) 69 77 77 223
T48 J.T. Barker (3) 73 76 74 223
T71 Luke Farmer (4) 74 76 79 229
T83 Tyler Carlson (2) 80 77 77 234
86 Brent Fredericksen (5) 79 78 82 239
TEAM SCORES (FINAL)
1 - No. 61 James Madison - 286-276-282--844
2 - No. 62 Campbell - 281-281-283--845
t3 - No. 39 South Florida - 282-285-287--854
t3 - No. 49 Memphis - 287-278-289--854
t5 - No. 28 Houston - 292-280-292--864
t5 - No. 68 East Carolina - 290-288-286--864
7 - No. 108 Maryland - 285-288-297--870
8 - No. 16 UCF - 297-289-290--876
9 - No. 130 USC Upstate - 297-294-291--883
10 - No. 217 Wichita State - 295-290-302--887
11 - No. 213 Delaware - 295-289-306--890
12 - No. 260 Houston Baptist - 303-291-304--898
t13 - No. 172 William & Mary - 308-294-300--902
t13 - No. 207 Temple - 305-299-298--902
15 - No. 257 FGCU - 295-306-307--908
16 - No. 205 Hartford - 318-302-306--926
Quotes From Other Coaches:
James Madison: "This was a really good win on a really tough final-day setup," said head coach Jeff Forbes. "To come here and perform the way we did, taking home the trophy against some really good programs, is an outstanding way to end the fall. We also know that we still have improvements to make over the winter as we get ready for a really challenging spring schedule."
Campbell: "We had a great tournament and played extremely well this week, and it came down to the final hole where the young man from JMU made a 30-foot birdie putt," said Campbell head coach John Crooks. "Pontus had a great event to win his first collegiate tournament. This group is special."
USF: "Obviously, we're a little disappointed we didn't quite meet our standards of what we came here to achieve, but we battled the whole time," said assistant coach Brad Caldwell. "There was no give-up in the guys, the effort was there. We just didn't execute as good as we needed to at times on a hard golf course. All in all, it was a good fall. It wasn't a great fall, but I think our ceiling is really high. We've got 115 days until we play our next event and we gotta get better. We have to learn from our mistakes, work on our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. If we do that come April, we're gonna be a really good team."
SCF VB Closes Season @ Florida Gateway
The SCF volleyball team (2-21) will look to close the regular season on a good note as they travel to Lake City to take on Florida Gateway College (10-24) at the Howard Conference Center for their last match of the season.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of a 3-0 loss to Daytona State College on the road in their fourth ever matchup.
Offensively, freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai leads the team with 143 kills while adding 14 aces and 193 digs. Classmate Gracee Carpino leads the team with 510 assists, 121 digs and 22 aces.
Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom's season came to a close early due to a concussion and finished her sophomore campaign with 133 kills and 28 blocks (eight solo).
Defensively, sophomores Sydney Jaco and Barbora Tichackova hold down the anchors. Jaco leads the team with 423 digs (5.42 per set) and 33 assists, while Tichackova leads with 64 blocks (19 solo) and 23 aces to go with her 71 kills. Freshman Brooke Henry also plays a key role defensively as she has 141 digs in her name.
Sophomore Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet continue with their hybrid style of play. Bernard has 91 kills and 32 blocks (nine solo) in her name, while Jaunet has 97 kills and 29 blocks (eight solo) in her name.
Freshmen Jazmin Spencer and Bailey Sikkema are two main wildcards for the Manatees. Spencer has 59 kills and 14 blocks (seven solo) in her name, while Sikkema has 42 kills and 16 blocks (three solo).
Scouting Florida Gateway:
Florida Gateway represented the Sun-Lakes Conference (NJCAA DII) where they finished dead last in their conference going 0-10. In their last match, the Timberwolves are coming off of a 3-0 win over Johnson University (NCCAA).
Sophomore Jaylin Roberts leads the Timberwolves offensively with 227 kills and 244 digs, while freshman Claire Roberson follows with 184 kills of her own along with 164 digs and freshman Kaeley Kellar has 173 kills and 261 digs. Freshman Karen Hill has 600 assists in her name along with a team-leading 45 aces.
Defensively, freshman Courtney Williamson leads the Timberwolves with 52 blocks (22 solo) to go with her 118 kills while classmate Kaci Law had 490 digs in her name.
This will be the second time the Manatees play the Timberwolves. The first time both teams met was on September 12, 2018 where they Manatees won 3-0 at home.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of a 3-0 loss to Daytona State College on the road in their fourth ever matchup.
Offensively, freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai leads the team with 143 kills while adding 14 aces and 193 digs. Classmate Gracee Carpino leads the team with 510 assists, 121 digs and 22 aces.
Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom's season came to a close early due to a concussion and finished her sophomore campaign with 133 kills and 28 blocks (eight solo).
Defensively, sophomores Sydney Jaco and Barbora Tichackova hold down the anchors. Jaco leads the team with 423 digs (5.42 per set) and 33 assists, while Tichackova leads with 64 blocks (19 solo) and 23 aces to go with her 71 kills. Freshman Brooke Henry also plays a key role defensively as she has 141 digs in her name.
Sophomore Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet continue with their hybrid style of play. Bernard has 91 kills and 32 blocks (nine solo) in her name, while Jaunet has 97 kills and 29 blocks (eight solo) in her name.
Freshmen Jazmin Spencer and Bailey Sikkema are two main wildcards for the Manatees. Spencer has 59 kills and 14 blocks (seven solo) in her name, while Sikkema has 42 kills and 16 blocks (three solo).
Scouting Florida Gateway:
Florida Gateway represented the Sun-Lakes Conference (NJCAA DII) where they finished dead last in their conference going 0-10. In their last match, the Timberwolves are coming off of a 3-0 win over Johnson University (NCCAA).
Sophomore Jaylin Roberts leads the Timberwolves offensively with 227 kills and 244 digs, while freshman Claire Roberson follows with 184 kills of her own along with 164 digs and freshman Kaeley Kellar has 173 kills and 261 digs. Freshman Karen Hill has 600 assists in her name along with a team-leading 45 aces.
Defensively, freshman Courtney Williamson leads the Timberwolves with 52 blocks (22 solo) to go with her 118 kills while classmate Kaci Law had 490 digs in her name.
This will be the second time the Manatees play the Timberwolves. The first time both teams met was on September 12, 2018 where they Manatees won 3-0 at home.
FGCU VB vs Liberty Preview
The FGCU Volleyball team (10-2) return home to the Alico Arena as they welcome Liberty (14-8, 7-3 A-SUN) Tuesday Night, October 29 at 6 pm.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of competing this past weekend on the road after shutting out Jacksonville and North Alabama. In both matches, the Eagles completed their first and second conference series sweeps while remaining in first place in the A-SUN.
Going Streaking:
The Eagles will enter the tilt having won 11 consecutive matches and 16 straight sets. As of Monday, they are one of only eight teams nationally with at least 20 wins, and their 21 victories is tied with Pittsburgh and South Dakota for the fourth-most in the nation.
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
4. FGCU - 21
Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
Furthermore, FGCU's winning streak is tied for the eighth-longest in the nation. With Sunday's win over North Alabama, the Eagles are now five shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 that was set last year, and they're four shy of matching the regular season only streak of 15 that was set in 2016.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
8. FGCU - 11
New Mexico State - 11
VCU - 11
What It Do VanLiew:
The main leader on offense is junior Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew leads the team with 326 kills with 157 digs, 17 aces and 34 blocks (seven solo). VanLiew finished the weekend with 25 kills, 10 digs and an ace.
Meanwhile in her career, VanLiew 1,100 career kills and needs 33 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. VanLiew also has 692 career digs and needs eight to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs.
Nike or Adidas:
Freshman Erin Shoemaker follows VanLiew with 180 kills to go along with 31 blocks (seven solo). For the weekend, Shoemaker had 11 kills and two blocks.
Lockdown:
Since taking over for Maggie Rick, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has taken a big grasp as starting setter. Lockey leads the team with 888 assists in her name while adding 23 aces, 172 digs and 41 blocks (four solo). Lockey had 59 assists this past weekend while adding five kills, 11 digs and three blocks.
In her career, Lockey has 1,258 career assists and needs 147 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Hot and Spicy Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano currently has 153 kills and 73 blocks (nine solo) in her name. Serrano had nine kills and five blocks on the weekend. Serrano's nine kills put her at 768 in her career and needs 32 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 70 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's five blocks put her at 438 and moved passed UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history. Serrano is now on sight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks and needs 37 blocks to do so.
Blizzards and Mojos:
Junior Snowy Burnam and senior Giovanna Borgiotti have over 500 kills in their careers and were once in a neck-and-neck battle.
Burnam currently has 144 kills in her name while adding 22 aces, 165 digs and 51 blocks (two solo) while Borgiotti has 48 kills and 12 blocks (one solo) in her name. Burnam had 10 kills and 14 digs this past weekend, while Borgiotti had three kills and two digs.
Burnam has 589 career kills and needs 11 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 61 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam has 536 in her career and is 17 away from surpassing Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. Borgiotti has 543 career kills and need 31 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Meanwhile in blocks, Burnam has 164 total blocks (153 block assists, t-11th all-time) while Borgiotti has 126 (114 block assists, t-17th all-time). Burnam needs four block assists to surpass Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) to be in the top 10 (10th all-time) and two total blocks to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time while Borgiotti needs one block assist to surpass Pudwill (114, 2015-16) for 17th all-time and four total blocks to surpass Pudwill (129, 2015-16) and Cara Ziegler (129, 2006-07) for 17th all-time.
Apprentice 1,000:
Sophomore Dana Axner did not play against North Alabama, but did have 16 digs and two assists against Jacksonville. Axner has 395 digs in her name along with 20 aces. Axner has 1,019 in her career and needs 66 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Axner became the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs in her match against Bethune-Cookman, the youngest player in program history to reach that milestone, the first to achieve the milestone as a sophomore in the Division I era and the second to do it in her first two seasons since Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07).
I would assume that Axner was getting a much needed rest for Liberty.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll took over for Axner as the libero against North Alabama. Currently, Carroll has 55 kills, 179 digs and 31 aces in her name. Carroll had three kills, 13 digs and six aces on the weekend with her six aces against North Alabama tying a career-high.
Carroll has the all-time career kills record with 1,450 and needs 50 to reach 1,500. As far as her other milestones, Carroll has 1,181 career digs and 132 aces and needs eight aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
VanLiew, Serrano, Burnam, Borgiotti and Carroll are the five remaining members to have at least 500 career kills.
On the World Tor:
Sophomore Tori Morris had one of her best matches against North Alabama as she finished with a career-high 10 kills and a team-leading six blocks. Currently, Morris has 93 kills and 65 blocks (seven solo). Morris had 13 kills and seven blocks this past weekend.
Morris has been moving up in the top 20 lists during the weekend as she has 144 blocks (129 block assists). Her 129 block assists tied Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-19) for 15th all-time, while her 144 total blocks put her at 144 in her career as she surpassed Krivdo (140, 2015-19) for 15th all-time. Morris needs one to surpass Krivdo to be 15th all-time in block assists and 10 blocks to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford earned his 135th and 136th career wins with the Eagles (377th overall) against Bethune-Cookman, while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 287th career win (314th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 75th.
Scouting Liberty:
The Lady Flames finished this past weekend with two wins over NJIT and Jacksonville. Currently the Lady Flames are fourth place in the A-SUN.
Redshirt junior Amelia Johnson leads the team with 314 kills and 23 aces, while senior right-side hitter Casey Goodwin has 202 kills and 67 blocks.
Senior middle blocker Anna Gragg, a three-time all-conference performer, has 192 kills and leads the Lady Flames with 86 blocks (11 solo) while junior Macy Phillips leads with 360 digs and 26 aces,
Senior setter Hannah Morris 652 assists in her name and 45 blocks.
Series History:
The Eagles hold a 3-1 record against the Lady Flames. Earlier this season, the Eagles played Liberty on the road to open conference play falling 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page. Fans can also keep updated on both teams via Twitter:
FGCU- @FGCU_VB
Liberty- @LibertyWVB
Promos:
The match will be dubbed as a green out as marketing is encouraging fans to wear green to the match. There will also be a Halloween costume contest as well.
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273135
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of competing this past weekend on the road after shutting out Jacksonville and North Alabama. In both matches, the Eagles completed their first and second conference series sweeps while remaining in first place in the A-SUN.
Going Streaking:
The Eagles will enter the tilt having won 11 consecutive matches and 16 straight sets. As of Monday, they are one of only eight teams nationally with at least 20 wins, and their 21 victories is tied with Pittsburgh and South Dakota for the fourth-most in the nation.
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
4. FGCU - 21
Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
Furthermore, FGCU's winning streak is tied for the eighth-longest in the nation. With Sunday's win over North Alabama, the Eagles are now five shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 that was set last year, and they're four shy of matching the regular season only streak of 15 that was set in 2016.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
8. FGCU - 11
New Mexico State - 11
VCU - 11
What It Do VanLiew:
The main leader on offense is junior Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew leads the team with 326 kills with 157 digs, 17 aces and 34 blocks (seven solo). VanLiew finished the weekend with 25 kills, 10 digs and an ace.
Meanwhile in her career, VanLiew 1,100 career kills and needs 33 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. VanLiew also has 692 career digs and needs eight to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs.
Nike or Adidas:
Freshman Erin Shoemaker follows VanLiew with 180 kills to go along with 31 blocks (seven solo). For the weekend, Shoemaker had 11 kills and two blocks.
Lockdown:
Since taking over for Maggie Rick, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has taken a big grasp as starting setter. Lockey leads the team with 888 assists in her name while adding 23 aces, 172 digs and 41 blocks (four solo). Lockey had 59 assists this past weekend while adding five kills, 11 digs and three blocks.
In her career, Lockey has 1,258 career assists and needs 147 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Hot and Spicy Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano currently has 153 kills and 73 blocks (nine solo) in her name. Serrano had nine kills and five blocks on the weekend. Serrano's nine kills put her at 768 in her career and needs 32 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 70 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's five blocks put her at 438 and moved passed UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history. Serrano is now on sight to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks and needs 37 blocks to do so.
Blizzards and Mojos:
Junior Snowy Burnam and senior Giovanna Borgiotti have over 500 kills in their careers and were once in a neck-and-neck battle.
Burnam currently has 144 kills in her name while adding 22 aces, 165 digs and 51 blocks (two solo) while Borgiotti has 48 kills and 12 blocks (one solo) in her name. Burnam had 10 kills and 14 digs this past weekend, while Borgiotti had three kills and two digs.
Burnam has 589 career kills and needs 11 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 61 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam has 536 in her career and is 17 away from surpassing Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. Borgiotti has 543 career kills and need 31 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Meanwhile in blocks, Burnam has 164 total blocks (153 block assists, t-11th all-time) while Borgiotti has 126 (114 block assists, t-17th all-time). Burnam needs four block assists to surpass Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) to be in the top 10 (10th all-time) and two total blocks to surpass Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time while Borgiotti needs one block assist to surpass Pudwill (114, 2015-16) for 17th all-time and four total blocks to surpass Pudwill (129, 2015-16) and Cara Ziegler (129, 2006-07) for 17th all-time.
Apprentice 1,000:
Sophomore Dana Axner did not play against North Alabama, but did have 16 digs and two assists against Jacksonville. Axner has 395 digs in her name along with 20 aces. Axner has 1,019 in her career and needs 66 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Axner became the seventh player to reach 1,000 career digs in her match against Bethune-Cookman, the youngest player in program history to reach that milestone, the first to achieve the milestone as a sophomore in the Division I era and the second to do it in her first two seasons since Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07).
I would assume that Axner was getting a much needed rest for Liberty.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll took over for Axner as the libero against North Alabama. Currently, Carroll has 55 kills, 179 digs and 31 aces in her name. Carroll had three kills, 13 digs and six aces on the weekend with her six aces against North Alabama tying a career-high.
Carroll has the all-time career kills record with 1,450 and needs 50 to reach 1,500. As far as her other milestones, Carroll has 1,181 career digs and 132 aces and needs eight aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
VanLiew, Serrano, Burnam, Borgiotti and Carroll are the five remaining members to have at least 500 career kills.
On the World Tor:
Sophomore Tori Morris had one of her best matches against North Alabama as she finished with a career-high 10 kills and a team-leading six blocks. Currently, Morris has 93 kills and 65 blocks (seven solo). Morris had 13 kills and seven blocks this past weekend.
Morris has been moving up in the top 20 lists during the weekend as she has 144 blocks (129 block assists). Her 129 block assists tied Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-19) for 15th all-time, while her 144 total blocks put her at 144 in her career as she surpassed Krivdo (140, 2015-19) for 15th all-time. Morris needs one to surpass Krivdo to be 15th all-time in block assists and 10 blocks to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford earned his 135th and 136th career wins with the Eagles (377th overall) against Bethune-Cookman, while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 287th career win (314th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 75th.
Scouting Liberty:
The Lady Flames finished this past weekend with two wins over NJIT and Jacksonville. Currently the Lady Flames are fourth place in the A-SUN.
Redshirt junior Amelia Johnson leads the team with 314 kills and 23 aces, while senior right-side hitter Casey Goodwin has 202 kills and 67 blocks.
Senior middle blocker Anna Gragg, a three-time all-conference performer, has 192 kills and leads the Lady Flames with 86 blocks (11 solo) while junior Macy Phillips leads with 360 digs and 26 aces,
Senior setter Hannah Morris 652 assists in her name and 45 blocks.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (21-3, 7-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (15-8, 8-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (14-8, 7-3 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-24, 0-9 A-SUN)
Series History:
The Eagles hold a 3-1 record against the Lady Flames. Earlier this season, the Eagles played Liberty on the road to open conference play falling 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page. Fans can also keep updated on both teams via Twitter:
FGCU- @FGCU_VB
Liberty- @LibertyWVB
Promos:
The match will be dubbed as a green out as marketing is encouraging fans to wear green to the match. There will also be a Halloween costume contest as well.
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273135
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball
FGCU MGOLF: Intercollegiate at Innisbrook Day One Recap
A strong first round of play where the Eagles tied for eighth paced the day as FGCU finished the first day of the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook in 13th overall on Monday. Senior Doug Smith shot a two-under par 69 pacing FGCU to open the two-day tournament at the Copperhead Course before finishing the day tied for 33rd individually.
As a team, the Eagles shot 601 (295-306) to enter Tuesday's third round on the par 71 course ahead of William & Mary, Temple and Hartford. Campbell and James Madison finished Monday with the team lead shooting 562 each.
In the first round, FGCU finished tied for eighth with a two-stroke lead over No. 16 UCF and sat just three strokes behind No. 28 Houston (292). Smith's 69 came on six birdies including four on the front nine. It also marked his second consecutive round shooting a season-low 69 after doing so during the third round of the J.T. Poston Invitational.
Junior J.T. Barker, who led the Eagles in the second round alongside sophomore Luke Farmer, was just behind with a score of 73 while Farmer notched a 74 to start the day.
"Our team got off to a good start this morning," said head coach Andrew Danna. "I'm proud of our guys for how they handled the day. We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for 18 more holes tomorrow."
The second round saw Barker and Farmer lead the way as each shot 76 followed by 77's from Smith and junior Tyler Carlson. Barker finished the day tied for 53rd with a two-round score of 149, while Farmer tied for 59th (150).
Tuesday's third round action begins at 8:15 AM at the Copperhead Course. Following the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook, the Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday, Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
FGCU DAY ONE RESULTS (ROUND 1 & 2)
13 Florida Gulf Coast University 295 306 601
T33 Doug Smith (1) 69 77 146
T53 J.T. Barker (3) 73 76 149
T59 Luke Farmer (4) 74 76 150
T82 Tyler Carlson (2) 80 77 157
T82 Brent Fredericksen (5) 79 78 157
TEAM SCORES (ROUND 1 & 2)
T1 - No. 62 Campbell - 281-281-562
T1 - No. 61 James Madison - 286-276-562
3 - No. 49 Memphis - 287-278-565
4 - No. 39 South Florida - 282-285-567
5 - No. 28 Houston - 292-280-572
6 - No. 108 Maryland - 285-288-573
7 - No. 68 East Carolina - 290-288-578
8 - No. 213 Delaware - 295-289-584
9 - No. 217 Wichita State - 295-290-585
10 - No. 16 UCF - 297-289-586
11 - No. 130 USC Upstate - 297-294-591
12 - No. 260 Houston Baptist - 303-291-594
13 - No. 257 FGCU - 295-306-601
14 - No. 172 William & Mary - 308-294-602
15 - No. 207 Temple - 305-299-604
16 - No. 205 Hartford - 318-302-620
Quotes From Other Coaches:
James Madison: "I was really happy with the way we competed today, especially coming down the stretch to put ourselves at the top of the leaderboard against a really talented field," said head coach Jeff Forbes. "With as strong of a leaderboard as this is, we know we have to come out tomorrow with the same focus and quality."
USF: "We had some good stuff at times and some bad stuff at times," said assistant coach Brad Caldwell. "It was good to see Kyle (Flexsenhar) come out here this morning and put together a good score. We have kind of relied on Luke (Gifford)and Albin (Bergstrom) early on and to see him put together his lowest round of the season was really good. Ryo (Furuya) played well this morning, but there were too many mistakes to compound the good stuff today."
"We weren't as consistent as we needed to be on this golf course. It's a hard golf course, we know that, and we made a bunch of mental errors when we didn't need to. We'd get two to four good holes together and then make a mental mistake and you're kind of back to square one. We were continually in that cycle, where we couldn't stream together as good of a day as it could have been. I think everybody had between a B-minus game to a D game. If we come out tomorrow and everybody puts together an A game, we've got a really good chance to win this thing still. To be where we're at and be only five shots back, we've got a chance tomorrow."
Upstate: "Our place after day one doesn't reflect the effort these guys put in on the course today," USC Upstate head golf coach Todd Lawton said. "We missed several chances to be much better by only a yard or two. We have a great course and a great field to compete against."
As a team, the Eagles shot 601 (295-306) to enter Tuesday's third round on the par 71 course ahead of William & Mary, Temple and Hartford. Campbell and James Madison finished Monday with the team lead shooting 562 each.
In the first round, FGCU finished tied for eighth with a two-stroke lead over No. 16 UCF and sat just three strokes behind No. 28 Houston (292). Smith's 69 came on six birdies including four on the front nine. It also marked his second consecutive round shooting a season-low 69 after doing so during the third round of the J.T. Poston Invitational.
Junior J.T. Barker, who led the Eagles in the second round alongside sophomore Luke Farmer, was just behind with a score of 73 while Farmer notched a 74 to start the day.
"Our team got off to a good start this morning," said head coach Andrew Danna. "I'm proud of our guys for how they handled the day. We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for 18 more holes tomorrow."
The second round saw Barker and Farmer lead the way as each shot 76 followed by 77's from Smith and junior Tyler Carlson. Barker finished the day tied for 53rd with a two-round score of 149, while Farmer tied for 59th (150).
Tuesday's third round action begins at 8:15 AM at the Copperhead Course. Following the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook, the Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday, Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
FGCU DAY ONE RESULTS (ROUND 1 & 2)
13 Florida Gulf Coast University 295 306 601
T33 Doug Smith (1) 69 77 146
T53 J.T. Barker (3) 73 76 149
T59 Luke Farmer (4) 74 76 150
T82 Tyler Carlson (2) 80 77 157
T82 Brent Fredericksen (5) 79 78 157
TEAM SCORES (ROUND 1 & 2)
T1 - No. 62 Campbell - 281-281-562
T1 - No. 61 James Madison - 286-276-562
3 - No. 49 Memphis - 287-278-565
4 - No. 39 South Florida - 282-285-567
5 - No. 28 Houston - 292-280-572
6 - No. 108 Maryland - 285-288-573
7 - No. 68 East Carolina - 290-288-578
8 - No. 213 Delaware - 295-289-584
9 - No. 217 Wichita State - 295-290-585
10 - No. 16 UCF - 297-289-586
11 - No. 130 USC Upstate - 297-294-591
12 - No. 260 Houston Baptist - 303-291-594
13 - No. 257 FGCU - 295-306-601
14 - No. 172 William & Mary - 308-294-602
15 - No. 207 Temple - 305-299-604
16 - No. 205 Hartford - 318-302-620
Quotes From Other Coaches:
James Madison: "I was really happy with the way we competed today, especially coming down the stretch to put ourselves at the top of the leaderboard against a really talented field," said head coach Jeff Forbes. "With as strong of a leaderboard as this is, we know we have to come out tomorrow with the same focus and quality."
USF: "We had some good stuff at times and some bad stuff at times," said assistant coach Brad Caldwell. "It was good to see Kyle (Flexsenhar) come out here this morning and put together a good score. We have kind of relied on Luke (Gifford)and Albin (Bergstrom) early on and to see him put together his lowest round of the season was really good. Ryo (Furuya) played well this morning, but there were too many mistakes to compound the good stuff today."
"We weren't as consistent as we needed to be on this golf course. It's a hard golf course, we know that, and we made a bunch of mental errors when we didn't need to. We'd get two to four good holes together and then make a mental mistake and you're kind of back to square one. We were continually in that cycle, where we couldn't stream together as good of a day as it could have been. I think everybody had between a B-minus game to a D game. If we come out tomorrow and everybody puts together an A game, we've got a really good chance to win this thing still. To be where we're at and be only five shots back, we've got a chance tomorrow."
Upstate: "Our place after day one doesn't reflect the effort these guys put in on the course today," USC Upstate head golf coach Todd Lawton said. "We missed several chances to be much better by only a yard or two. We have a great course and a great field to compete against."
FGCU VB @ North Alabama Recap
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll transitioned for sophomore Dana Axner as the libero as the FGCU volleyball team (21-3, 8-1 A-SUN) pulled away with another series sweep as they shutout North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-14, 25-6, 25-22). With the win, the Eagles are now 4-0 against the Lions.
The Green and Blue have won 11 straight matches and 16 straight sets, and their 21 wins is tied for fourth-most in the nation with Pittsburgh and South Dakota. Stephen F. Austin, Western Kentucky and Milwaukee are all tied for the most with 22 each. Following the match, the Eagles also learned they have moved into sole possession of first place in the ASUN standings with Kennesaw State's (15-7, 8-2) loss to North Florida.
Offensively, it was sophomore Tori Morris that led the Eagles this time as she finished with a career-high 10 kills to go along with a team-leading six blocks. Junior Cortney VanLiew followed with nine kills of her own to go along with an ace and two digs, while freshman Erin Shoemaker finished with seven kills, an ace and two blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey was two digs shy of a her sixth double-double of the season as she finished with 21 assists to go with her lone kill, lone block, two aces and eight digs.
Carroll finished with six aces to go along with her lone kill, three assists and two digs while junior Alayna Ryan, who rotated the libero position with Carroll, had seven digs, two assists and an ace.
Senior Daniele Serrano and junior Snowy Burnam finished with three blocks each. Serrano added four kills, while Burnam added three kills, an ace and four digs.
"Tori was outstanding today both offensively and with her blocking," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I really liked how she asserted herself right from the start. Amanda and Alayna also did a nice job filling into the libero position."
Not one player from North Alabama had double digits figures in the stats. Offensively, freshman Anna Katherine Griggs had six kills while classmate Breylee Linder had nine assists and two aces. Defensively, freshman Mariana Trujillo had six digs while classmates Sarah-Elizabeth Williams had three blocks and four kills.
Notes:
Morris' six blocks were all block assists that put her at 129 in her career and tied Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-19) for 15th all-time, while the total blocks put her at 144 in her career as she surpassed Krivdo (140, 2015-19) for 15th all-time. Morris needs one to surpass Krivdo to be 15th all-time in block assists and 10 blocks to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
With her nine kills, VanLiew now has 1,100 career kills and needs 33 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time while her two digs put her at 692 and needs eight to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs.
Lockey's 21 assists put her at 1,258 and now needs 147 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Carroll's six aces tied her career-high and were the most since 2016 (vs Ohio 8/27/16) and put her at 132 in her career and needs eight to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Serrano's three blocks pushed her passed UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history as she now has 438 in her career. Serrano will now be attempting to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks, needing 37 to do so.
Meanwhile, Serrano's four kills put her at 768 and needs 32 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 70 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
Burnam's three kills put her at 589 in her career as is 11 shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 61 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her four digs put her at 536 in her career and is 17 away from surpassing Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Borgiotti's lone kill put her at 543 and needs 30 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel earned his 287th career win as a coach for the Eagles (314th overall) while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 75th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
Liberty (14-8, 7-3 A-SUN) defeated Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) 3-1 in Jacksonville.
UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) did an impossible and upset Kennesaw State (15-7, 8-2 A-SUN) by a score of 3-1. The Kennesaw loss gave the Eagles sole possession of first place in the A-SUN. Kennesaw will return home to take on NJIT (1-24, 0-9 A-SUN) Tuesday morning, October 29 at 11 am.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) pulled away with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN). Both teams were on a six-match winning streak prior to the Stetson win. Stetson will be back in action in Deland Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm as they welcome Jacksonville, while Lipscomb will be back in action on Halloween in Lynchburg, Va to take on Liberty at 6 pm.
After the loss, North Alabama will be back in action in Jacksonville to take on Jacksonville on Halloween at 7 pm.
Up Next:
The Eagles will return home for their final three home matches as they welcome Liberty (10/29), Stetson (11/1) and UNF (11/3) to the Alico Arena. The match vs Stetson will be dubbed as senior night for Carroll, Serrano and Borgiotti.
The Green and Blue have won 11 straight matches and 16 straight sets, and their 21 wins is tied for fourth-most in the nation with Pittsburgh and South Dakota. Stephen F. Austin, Western Kentucky and Milwaukee are all tied for the most with 22 each. Following the match, the Eagles also learned they have moved into sole possession of first place in the ASUN standings with Kennesaw State's (15-7, 8-2) loss to North Florida.
Offensively, it was sophomore Tori Morris that led the Eagles this time as she finished with a career-high 10 kills to go along with a team-leading six blocks. Junior Cortney VanLiew followed with nine kills of her own to go along with an ace and two digs, while freshman Erin Shoemaker finished with seven kills, an ace and two blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey was two digs shy of a her sixth double-double of the season as she finished with 21 assists to go with her lone kill, lone block, two aces and eight digs.
Carroll finished with six aces to go along with her lone kill, three assists and two digs while junior Alayna Ryan, who rotated the libero position with Carroll, had seven digs, two assists and an ace.
Senior Daniele Serrano and junior Snowy Burnam finished with three blocks each. Serrano added four kills, while Burnam added three kills, an ace and four digs.
"Tori was outstanding today both offensively and with her blocking," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I really liked how she asserted herself right from the start. Amanda and Alayna also did a nice job filling into the libero position."
Not one player from North Alabama had double digits figures in the stats. Offensively, freshman Anna Katherine Griggs had six kills while classmate Breylee Linder had nine assists and two aces. Defensively, freshman Mariana Trujillo had six digs while classmates Sarah-Elizabeth Williams had three blocks and four kills.
Notes:
Morris' six blocks were all block assists that put her at 129 in her career and tied Kaitlan Krivdo (129, 2015-19) for 15th all-time, while the total blocks put her at 144 in her career as she surpassed Krivdo (140, 2015-19) for 15th all-time. Morris needs one to surpass Krivdo to be 15th all-time in block assists and 10 blocks to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
With her nine kills, VanLiew now has 1,100 career kills and needs 33 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time while her two digs put her at 692 and needs eight to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs.
Lockey's 21 assists put her at 1,258 and now needs 147 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Carroll's six aces tied her career-high and were the most since 2016 (vs Ohio 8/27/16) and put her at 132 in her career and needs eight to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Serrano's three blocks pushed her passed UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history as she now has 438 in her career. Serrano will now be attempting to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks, needing 37 to do so.
Meanwhile, Serrano's four kills put her at 768 and needs 32 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 70 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time.
Burnam's three kills put her at 589 in her career as is 11 shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 61 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. Meanwhile her four digs put her at 536 in her career and is 17 away from surpassing Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Borgiotti's lone kill put her at 543 and needs 30 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel earned his 287th career win as a coach for the Eagles (314th overall) while second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 75th.
Other A-SUN Scores:
Liberty (14-8, 7-3 A-SUN) defeated Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) 3-1 in Jacksonville.
UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) did an impossible and upset Kennesaw State (15-7, 8-2 A-SUN) by a score of 3-1. The Kennesaw loss gave the Eagles sole possession of first place in the A-SUN. Kennesaw will return home to take on NJIT (1-24, 0-9 A-SUN) Tuesday morning, October 29 at 11 am.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) pulled away with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN). Both teams were on a six-match winning streak prior to the Stetson win. Stetson will be back in action in Deland Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm as they welcome Jacksonville, while Lipscomb will be back in action on Halloween in Lynchburg, Va to take on Liberty at 6 pm.
After the loss, North Alabama will be back in action in Jacksonville to take on Jacksonville on Halloween at 7 pm.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (21-3, 7-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (15-8, 8-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (14-8, 7-3 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-24, 0-9 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles will return home for their final three home matches as they welcome Liberty (10/29), Stetson (11/1) and UNF (11/3) to the Alico Arena. The match vs Stetson will be dubbed as senior night for Carroll, Serrano and Borgiotti.
FGCU MGOLF: Intercollegiate at Innisbrook Preview
It's the penultimate tournament of the fall schedule as the FGCU men's golf team heads up to Tampa for the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook this Monday and Tuesday. The action starts with 36 holds starting Monday morning with a shot gun start before close out the final 18 holes on Tuesday on the par 71 Copperhead Course (7,209 yards).
The field will be one of the more challenging groups FGCU has faced this fall: No. 16 UCF, No. 28 Houston, No. 39 USF, No. 49 Memphis, Houston, Temple, Wichita State, Campbell, Delaware, Hartford, Houston Baptist, James Madison, Maryland, USC Upstate, William and Mary.
Junior Tyler Carlson (Bradenton, Fla.) has led FGCU over the first two tournaments of the fall with a 70.83 scoring average highlighted by his 27th-place finish at the Golfweek Program Championship. Senior Doug Smith (Widermere, Fla.) and junior J.T. Barker (Bethlehem, Pa.) have each played in the first two tournaments placing just behind Carlson with average scores of 72.50 and 73.67, respectively.
Following the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook, the Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
Lineup:
1. Doug Smith
2. Tyler Carlson
3. J.T. Barker
4. Luke Farmer
5. Brent Frederickson
The field will be one of the more challenging groups FGCU has faced this fall: No. 16 UCF, No. 28 Houston, No. 39 USF, No. 49 Memphis, Houston, Temple, Wichita State, Campbell, Delaware, Hartford, Houston Baptist, James Madison, Maryland, USC Upstate, William and Mary.
Junior Tyler Carlson (Bradenton, Fla.) has led FGCU over the first two tournaments of the fall with a 70.83 scoring average highlighted by his 27th-place finish at the Golfweek Program Championship. Senior Doug Smith (Widermere, Fla.) and junior J.T. Barker (Bethlehem, Pa.) have each played in the first two tournaments placing just behind Carlson with average scores of 72.50 and 73.67, respectively.
Following the Intercollegiate at Innisbrook, the Eagles will host the Homewood Suites FGCU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Monday Nov. 4 at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero to close out the fall campaign.
Lineup:
1. Doug Smith
2. Tyler Carlson
3. J.T. Barker
4. Luke Farmer
5. Brent Frederickson
FGCU WSOC @ Stetson Recap
The FGCU women's soccer team (11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN) claimed the ninth regular season title in program history with a hard-fought, 3-2 win over Stetson (2-13-2, 0-7-1 A-SUN) Sunday afternoon at the Athletic Training Center.
"It's awesome to be back on top and win the league," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "It was our goal from the beginning of the season to try and get back to this position so I'm pleased that we were able to do that. Obviously, today was a tough result to get because we got down a goal early and had to fight back. Stetson played hard today and it was a good test for our program and our players showed a lot of grit and strong character. Overall, three points on the road is always good and I'm happy with the work our team put in to secure this victory."
The Hatters struck first, as Lily Truong tallied her first goal of the season with a diving header that put the home team up 1-0 in the 15th minute of the match. Redshirt-junior Megan Young responded with an on-frame test, marking her third shot of the day, but was denied by the Stetson keeper.
After a slow start for FGCU's offense, senior Evdokia Popadinova put the team on the board with a shot in the 26th minute that tied things up at 1-1. Classmate Marjorie Boilesen was credited with the assist on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Popadinova handed the Eagles the lead with her second goal of the match after converting a corner kick from sophomore Kara Kyramarios. The senior knocked in a header in the 28th minute to put the Green and Blue up 2-1. The goal was Popadinova's 10th of the season, marking the second-consecutive year that she has achieved a double-digit total.
Sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger had an opportunity to extend FGCU's lead just before the half, but her header was stopped by Stetson's RaeAnna Casler. The team took its 2-1 advantage into the break, as well as an 8-3 edge in shots.
With 25 minutes left in the match, Stetson rookie Maggie Struble tallied the equalizer to cap off an unassisted drive into the box. The goal was her seventh of the season and tied things up at 2-2.
After a few unsuccessful scoring attempts by the Eagles, sophomore Alyssa Abbondandolo netted her first goal of the season in the 76th minute to break the tie. With less than 15 minutes on the clock, Abbondandolo's game-winner, which was assisted by Boilesen, put the Green and Blue up 3-2 and the team held on for the win.
Whether the Eagles stand alone as regular season champions, which would mark the ninth time in 10 seasons the team has achieved such a feat, will depend on the result of Sunday's 8 p.m. match between Lipscomb (11-5-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN) and host North Alabama (6-10-0, 2-5-0 A-SUN).
Though the official bracket will be released after tonight's match, FGCU is expected to be the No. 1 seed due to current tiebreaker rules, which include head-to-head results and RPI rankings (FGCU 66, Lipscomb 138).
Up Next:
Assuming FGCU earns the top seed, the Green and Blue will take on the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 4 Kennesaw State and No. 5 UNF (Friday, Nov. 1) in the conference semifinal at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 9 and will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
A-SUN Standings (before 8 p.m. match between Lipscomb/North Alabama)
1. FGCU * (19 points, 11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN)
2. Liberty * (18 points, 10-6-2, 6-2-0 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb * (16 points, 11-5-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN)
4. Kennesaw State * (15 points, 10-7-0, 5-3-0 A-SUN)
5. UNF * (13 points, 10-5-2, 4-2-1 A-SUN)
6. NJIT * (10 points, 6-7-3, 3-4-1 A-SUN)
7. North Alabama (6 points, 6-10-0, 2-5-0 A-SUN)
T-8. Stetson (1 point, 2-13-2, 0-7-1 A-SUN)
T-8. Jacksonville (1 point, 0-12-3, 0-6-1 A-SUN)
* - Denotes clinched spot in A-SUNChampionship
"It's awesome to be back on top and win the league," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "It was our goal from the beginning of the season to try and get back to this position so I'm pleased that we were able to do that. Obviously, today was a tough result to get because we got down a goal early and had to fight back. Stetson played hard today and it was a good test for our program and our players showed a lot of grit and strong character. Overall, three points on the road is always good and I'm happy with the work our team put in to secure this victory."
The Hatters struck first, as Lily Truong tallied her first goal of the season with a diving header that put the home team up 1-0 in the 15th minute of the match. Redshirt-junior Megan Young responded with an on-frame test, marking her third shot of the day, but was denied by the Stetson keeper.
After a slow start for FGCU's offense, senior Evdokia Popadinova put the team on the board with a shot in the 26th minute that tied things up at 1-1. Classmate Marjorie Boilesen was credited with the assist on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Popadinova handed the Eagles the lead with her second goal of the match after converting a corner kick from sophomore Kara Kyramarios. The senior knocked in a header in the 28th minute to put the Green and Blue up 2-1. The goal was Popadinova's 10th of the season, marking the second-consecutive year that she has achieved a double-digit total.
Sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger had an opportunity to extend FGCU's lead just before the half, but her header was stopped by Stetson's RaeAnna Casler. The team took its 2-1 advantage into the break, as well as an 8-3 edge in shots.
With 25 minutes left in the match, Stetson rookie Maggie Struble tallied the equalizer to cap off an unassisted drive into the box. The goal was her seventh of the season and tied things up at 2-2.
After a few unsuccessful scoring attempts by the Eagles, sophomore Alyssa Abbondandolo netted her first goal of the season in the 76th minute to break the tie. With less than 15 minutes on the clock, Abbondandolo's game-winner, which was assisted by Boilesen, put the Green and Blue up 3-2 and the team held on for the win.
Whether the Eagles stand alone as regular season champions, which would mark the ninth time in 10 seasons the team has achieved such a feat, will depend on the result of Sunday's 8 p.m. match between Lipscomb (11-5-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN) and host North Alabama (6-10-0, 2-5-0 A-SUN).
Though the official bracket will be released after tonight's match, FGCU is expected to be the No. 1 seed due to current tiebreaker rules, which include head-to-head results and RPI rankings (FGCU 66, Lipscomb 138).
Up Next:
Assuming FGCU earns the top seed, the Green and Blue will take on the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 4 Kennesaw State and No. 5 UNF (Friday, Nov. 1) in the conference semifinal at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 9 and will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
A-SUN Standings (before 8 p.m. match between Lipscomb/North Alabama)
1. FGCU * (19 points, 11-4-1, 6-1-1 A-SUN)
2. Liberty * (18 points, 10-6-2, 6-2-0 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb * (16 points, 11-5-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN)
4. Kennesaw State * (15 points, 10-7-0, 5-3-0 A-SUN)
5. UNF * (13 points, 10-5-2, 4-2-1 A-SUN)
6. NJIT * (10 points, 6-7-3, 3-4-1 A-SUN)
7. North Alabama (6 points, 6-10-0, 2-5-0 A-SUN)
T-8. Stetson (1 point, 2-13-2, 0-7-1 A-SUN)
T-8. Jacksonville (1 point, 0-12-3, 0-6-1 A-SUN)
* - Denotes clinched spot in A-SUNChampionship
FGCU MSOC vs NJIT Recap
The FGCU men's soccer team (7-7-2, 3-1-1 A-SUN) fell to NJIT (7-4-4, 4-1-0 A-SUN), 2-1, Saturday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
Prior to the game's kickoff, the Eagles honored its senior class members in TC Anderson, Thomas Delplace, Ivan Rosales, Jahan Rajaee, Joao Burti, Miguel Perez, Ryan Medilah, Ernest Mitchell, Jomar Alvarez, Shak Adams and Tom Denat.
"We're disappointed. It was a big night and we had a great crowd," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "I just thought that we didn't show up. We probably got what we deserved tonight. We have a week to get ready for Stetson so we'll start focusing on that matchup soon and put this result behind us."
Right out of the box, the visitors got on the board first scoring one minute and four seconds into the game. FGCU though, responded right back four minutes later as Rajaee netted his third goal of the season. Dribbling along the right-edge of the 18-yard box, Perez flicked over a cross that found the head of Rajaee for the equalizer. Perez now leads the team with four assists.
Heading towards the break, NJIT's Andrew Nino and Max Edwards were both booked with their second yellow card as each squad played with 10 men the rest of the contest.
In the second stanza, FGCU fired off eight shots, four of them coming on goal all by midfielder Medilah. It was in the 84th minute of play that saw NJIT secure the game-winner – Gerald Cubero, his second of the night. The Eagles outshot the Highlanders 18-11 and also held a 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Medilah led the Eagles in shots with five. Connor Gavigan (4-3) secured three saves in the losing effort.
Up Next:
The Eagles are off until next Saturday, Nov. 2 when they will face off against Stetson (7-7-2, 3-1-1 A-SUN) on the road to close out the regular season.
A-SUN Standings
1. NJIT (12 pts, 7-4-4, 4-1-0)
T-2. FGCU (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. Stetson (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. UNF (10 pts, 4-6-2, 3-2-1)
5. Lipscomb (6 pts, 4-8-2, 2-3-0)
6. Liberty (3 pts, 5-11-0, 1-4-0)
7. Jacksonville (1 pts, 5-6-2, 0-4-1)
Prior to the game's kickoff, the Eagles honored its senior class members in TC Anderson, Thomas Delplace, Ivan Rosales, Jahan Rajaee, Joao Burti, Miguel Perez, Ryan Medilah, Ernest Mitchell, Jomar Alvarez, Shak Adams and Tom Denat.
"We're disappointed. It was a big night and we had a great crowd," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "I just thought that we didn't show up. We probably got what we deserved tonight. We have a week to get ready for Stetson so we'll start focusing on that matchup soon and put this result behind us."
Right out of the box, the visitors got on the board first scoring one minute and four seconds into the game. FGCU though, responded right back four minutes later as Rajaee netted his third goal of the season. Dribbling along the right-edge of the 18-yard box, Perez flicked over a cross that found the head of Rajaee for the equalizer. Perez now leads the team with four assists.
Heading towards the break, NJIT's Andrew Nino and Max Edwards were both booked with their second yellow card as each squad played with 10 men the rest of the contest.
In the second stanza, FGCU fired off eight shots, four of them coming on goal all by midfielder Medilah. It was in the 84th minute of play that saw NJIT secure the game-winner – Gerald Cubero, his second of the night. The Eagles outshot the Highlanders 18-11 and also held a 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Medilah led the Eagles in shots with five. Connor Gavigan (4-3) secured three saves in the losing effort.
Up Next:
The Eagles are off until next Saturday, Nov. 2 when they will face off against Stetson (7-7-2, 3-1-1 A-SUN) on the road to close out the regular season.
A-SUN Standings
1. NJIT (12 pts, 7-4-4, 4-1-0)
T-2. FGCU (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. Stetson (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. UNF (10 pts, 4-6-2, 3-2-1)
5. Lipscomb (6 pts, 4-8-2, 2-3-0)
6. Liberty (3 pts, 5-11-0, 1-4-0)
7. Jacksonville (1 pts, 5-6-2, 0-4-1)
FGCU S&D vs Vanderbilt Recap
The FGCU swimming and diving team (5-0, 4-0 CCSA) continued its hot start to the 2019-20 season, earning a decisive 172-121 victory over Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-1 SEC) Friday night at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The win marked the program's first over an SEC opponent in a dual meet and the 20th win against a Power 5 school and are 20-22 overall.
"It was a great day," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Before we got started, I told the team that I wanted us to win every aspect of the meet, including team support, warming down, their turns, their breakouts and their finishes. They did a really good job of that. There are some areas that we can improve, but to see how fast some of those girls were swimming this early in the season is really exciting."
Over the course of the meet's 16 events, the Eagles picked up 10 first-place finishes. Junior Petra Halmai led the way, taking home three individual events and contributing to a Green and Blue relay win.
FGCU opened up the competition with a win in the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Lucija Sulenta, Halmai, senior Cassidy Fry and sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka finished 0.26 seconds before a Vanderbilt quartet to garner the team's first points of the day.
Freshman Kaja Reinhardt was the next big winner for the Eagles, touching the wall first in the 200 Free. Classmate Anna Hogan also contributed points in the race as FGCU jumped out to a 29-25 lead.
Halmai earned her first individual victory of the meet in the 100-yard breaststroke. Her time of 1:01.18 currently stands as the 11th-fastest time in the country. She also laid down a nationally-ranked time in the 200 Breast; her mark of 2:11.36 checks in at fourth in the collegiate standings, behind only Power-5 opponents. That time is .15 seconds off of her personal best, which stands as the school record.
FGCU picked up crucial points in the middle of the meet as the team posted a four-event stretch of top finishes. The streak began in the 200 Fly, which featured an Eagle sweep via the efforts of Halmai, freshman Julia Rodriguez and Fry. Czarnecka and freshman Hailey Jerew continued the scoring with a one-two finish in the 50-yard freestyle, which was followed up by rookie Reese Wakefield's win in the 3M dive. Czarnecka capped off the run with another individual triumph in the 100 Free. She was followed by Reinhardt and Jerew .
Wakefield continued to pick up wins in her rookie campaign as she won the 1M board to sweep both diving events. She outscored her opponents by a combined 33.67 points and has so far won every diving event that she has competed in as an Eagle.
In the final event of the day, it was the Eagles who touched the wall first in the 400-yard freestyle relay by a thrilling, 0.04-second margin. Reinhardt, Czarnecka, Sulenta and Jerew provided the Green and Blue's last points of the meet as the quartet edged the second-place Commodores with a time of 3:27.07.
In addition to the excitement of the victory, multiple FGCU swimmers notched new lifetime bests. Jerew took about a second and a half off of her previous mark in the 100 Free in just her third collegiate meet. Senior Elizabeth White swam a 2:18.85 in the 200 Breast, almost half a second faster than her previous best.
With the win, the Eagles continue the start of the season with their best mark since 2015-16. That year, FGCU began its campaign with a 7-0 mark in dual meets.
Up Next:
FGCU will remain at the Nest to host Houston (3-0, 2-0 American) in a two-day meet beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. The teams will resume the action at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. On Friday, fans are invited to participate in a Halloween costume contest. The Cougars were represented at last year's NCAA Championship by multiple student-athletes across different events.
"It was a great day," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Before we got started, I told the team that I wanted us to win every aspect of the meet, including team support, warming down, their turns, their breakouts and their finishes. They did a really good job of that. There are some areas that we can improve, but to see how fast some of those girls were swimming this early in the season is really exciting."
Over the course of the meet's 16 events, the Eagles picked up 10 first-place finishes. Junior Petra Halmai led the way, taking home three individual events and contributing to a Green and Blue relay win.
FGCU opened up the competition with a win in the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Lucija Sulenta, Halmai, senior Cassidy Fry and sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka finished 0.26 seconds before a Vanderbilt quartet to garner the team's first points of the day.
Freshman Kaja Reinhardt was the next big winner for the Eagles, touching the wall first in the 200 Free. Classmate Anna Hogan also contributed points in the race as FGCU jumped out to a 29-25 lead.
Halmai earned her first individual victory of the meet in the 100-yard breaststroke. Her time of 1:01.18 currently stands as the 11th-fastest time in the country. She also laid down a nationally-ranked time in the 200 Breast; her mark of 2:11.36 checks in at fourth in the collegiate standings, behind only Power-5 opponents. That time is .15 seconds off of her personal best, which stands as the school record.
FGCU picked up crucial points in the middle of the meet as the team posted a four-event stretch of top finishes. The streak began in the 200 Fly, which featured an Eagle sweep via the efforts of Halmai, freshman Julia Rodriguez and Fry. Czarnecka and freshman Hailey Jerew continued the scoring with a one-two finish in the 50-yard freestyle, which was followed up by rookie Reese Wakefield's win in the 3M dive. Czarnecka capped off the run with another individual triumph in the 100 Free. She was followed by Reinhardt and Jerew .
Wakefield continued to pick up wins in her rookie campaign as she won the 1M board to sweep both diving events. She outscored her opponents by a combined 33.67 points and has so far won every diving event that she has competed in as an Eagle.
In the final event of the day, it was the Eagles who touched the wall first in the 400-yard freestyle relay by a thrilling, 0.04-second margin. Reinhardt, Czarnecka, Sulenta and Jerew provided the Green and Blue's last points of the meet as the quartet edged the second-place Commodores with a time of 3:27.07.
In addition to the excitement of the victory, multiple FGCU swimmers notched new lifetime bests. Jerew took about a second and a half off of her previous mark in the 100 Free in just her third collegiate meet. Senior Elizabeth White swam a 2:18.85 in the 200 Breast, almost half a second faster than her previous best.
With the win, the Eagles continue the start of the season with their best mark since 2015-16. That year, FGCU began its campaign with a 7-0 mark in dual meets.
Up Next:
FGCU will remain at the Nest to host Houston (3-0, 2-0 American) in a two-day meet beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. The teams will resume the action at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. On Friday, fans are invited to participate in a Halloween costume contest. The Cougars were represented at last year's NCAA Championship by multiple student-athletes across different events.
FGCU VB @ JU Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (20-3, 8-1 A-SUN) continued their winning streak as they shutout Jacksonville (7-16, 3-6 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-16) in Swisher Gymnasium. With the win, the Eagles are now 20-11 against the Dolphins and have completed their first sweep in the A-SUN.
"That was a really clean and balanced performance with contributions across the board," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "The offense had a nice flow and rhythm to it and defensively we were outstanding. We have been talking a lot about consistency and working to sustain a certain level of play, and tonight we did that very well."
"We definitely did not play our best volleyball tonight, but there were some positives to take out of the match," commented head coach Evan Muys. "We are thankful that we get the opportunity to get back on the court Sunday and continue to get better against another really good team."
It was once again junior Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles offensively as she finished with 16 kills, eight digs, and two assists. Following VanLiew was classmate Snowy Burnam. Burnam finished with seven kills, 10 digs and a block. Senior Daniele Serrano followed VanLiew and Burnam with five kills, an assist and two blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey led the Eagles with 36 assists while adding four kills, two aces, two blocks and three digs.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner finished with 16 digs and two assists.
FGCU hit. 438 as a team, which is the sixth-best performance in the program's Division I era and the second-best percentage all-time against an A-SUN opponent, just behind a .451 finish against USC Upstate on Sept. 26, 2008.
Junior Madison Rayam led the Dolphins offensively with six kills, while freshman Lexi Wierzbicki followed with five kills of her own. Sophomore Natalie Martin and freshman Madison Dagenhart had 11 assists each.
Defensively, senior Natalie Wehner had 12 digs and two assists and became the ninth Dolphin to reach 1,000 career digs.
"Additionally, congrats to Nat, who earned her 1,000th dig this evening. She has embraced her role and is thriving in it. I'm incredibly proud of her and what she's overcome in her career, and I have an opportunity to coach such a great kid."
Notes:
VanLiew's 16 kills put her at 1,107 in her career while her eight digs put her at 690 and needs 10 to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 digs.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 586 in her career and needs 14 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 64 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam has 532 career digs and surpassed Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time. Burnam's next milestone is Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Lockey's 36 assists put her at 1,273 career assists and needs 132 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Serrano's five kills put her at 764 in her career while her two blocks put her at 434. Serrano needs 36 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills while needing two blocks to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,019 in her career and needs 66 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
"That was a really clean and balanced performance with contributions across the board," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "The offense had a nice flow and rhythm to it and defensively we were outstanding. We have been talking a lot about consistency and working to sustain a certain level of play, and tonight we did that very well."
"We definitely did not play our best volleyball tonight, but there were some positives to take out of the match," commented head coach Evan Muys. "We are thankful that we get the opportunity to get back on the court Sunday and continue to get better against another really good team."
It was once again junior Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles offensively as she finished with 16 kills, eight digs, and two assists. Following VanLiew was classmate Snowy Burnam. Burnam finished with seven kills, 10 digs and a block. Senior Daniele Serrano followed VanLiew and Burnam with five kills, an assist and two blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey led the Eagles with 36 assists while adding four kills, two aces, two blocks and three digs.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner finished with 16 digs and two assists.
FGCU hit. 438 as a team, which is the sixth-best performance in the program's Division I era and the second-best percentage all-time against an A-SUN opponent, just behind a .451 finish against USC Upstate on Sept. 26, 2008.
Junior Madison Rayam led the Dolphins offensively with six kills, while freshman Lexi Wierzbicki followed with five kills of her own. Sophomore Natalie Martin and freshman Madison Dagenhart had 11 assists each.
Defensively, senior Natalie Wehner had 12 digs and two assists and became the ninth Dolphin to reach 1,000 career digs.
"Additionally, congrats to Nat, who earned her 1,000th dig this evening. She has embraced her role and is thriving in it. I'm incredibly proud of her and what she's overcome in her career, and I have an opportunity to coach such a great kid."
Notes:
VanLiew's 16 kills put her at 1,107 in her career while her eight digs put her at 690 and needs 10 to become the 13th Eagle to reach 700 digs.
Burnam's seven kills put her at 586 in her career and needs 14 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 64 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam has 532 career digs and surpassed Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time. Burnam's next milestone is Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Lockey's 36 assists put her at 1,273 career assists and needs 132 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Serrano's five kills put her at 764 in her career while her two blocks put her at 434. Serrano needs 36 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills while needing two blocks to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,019 in her career and needs 66 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti finished with two kills, an assist and two blocks. Her two kills put her at 542 and needs 31 to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Botsford earned his 135th career win with the Eagles (376th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 286th career win (313th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 74th.
Botsford earned his 135th career win with the Eagles (376th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 286th career win (313th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 74th.
The Eagles are now tied with Pittsburgh for the fourth-most wins in the nation at 20. Western Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee are all tied for the most with 21 apiece. At .870, FGCU's winning percentage is also 13th-best in the nation.
A-SUN Scores:
NJIT (1-24, 0-9 A-SUN) played Wednesday night losing 3-0 to Manhattan College before being shutout 3-0 to Liberty (13-8, 6-3 A-SUN). Stetson (7-11, 5-4 A-SUN) defeated UNF (10-14, 3-6 A-SUN) 3-2 in a nail biter. Kennesaw State (15-6, 8-1 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama (3-20, 1-9 A-SUN) 3-0 in Florence.
The Lady Flames will return to action Sunday afternoon, October 27 at 1 pm as they travel to Jacksonville to take on JU, the Highlanders will be action Tuesday morning, October 29 at 11 am as they travel to Kennesaw State and the Hatters will travel to Nashville to take on Lipscomb (11-9, 7-2 A-SUN) Sunday afternoon, October 27 at 2 pm
Up Next:
The Eagles will be back in action on the road Sunday at North Alabama at 2 p.m. ET.
FGCU MSOC vs NJIT Preview
The FGCU men's soccer team (7-6-2, 3-0-1 A-SUN) closes out its regular-season home slate this Saturday on Senior Night hosting the NJIT (6-4-4, 3-1-0 A-SUN) in a battle for first place in the league standings.
30 minutes prior to the game's 7 p.m. kickoff, the Eagles will honor its senior class members in TC Anderson, Thomas Delplace, Ivan Rosales, Jahan Rajaee, Joao Burti, Miguel Perez, Ryan Medilah, Ernest Mitchell, Jomar Alvarez, Shak Adams and Tom Denat.
The Green and Blue:
FGCU is coming off a 1-0 win over #17 Charlotte Tuesday night at home. Perez netted the game-winner in the 33rd minute as the Eagles held the Niners to five shots (one on goal) in the second half. Forward O'Vonte Mullings leads the Eagles in points (16) with seven goals and two assists. On offense, 11 Eagles have scored for a total of 26 goals along with 22 assists. In net the past six games, Connor Gavigan has gone 4-2-0 with a pair of clean sheets.
Of the 15 matches so far for FGCU, 10 opponents have either been ranked or receiving votes in national polls. Currently, the Eagles have an RPI of 62 which leads all A-SUN programs – their RPI was a high as 20 after the first month of play.
Scouting the Highlanders:
NJIT comes into the Nest after facing Lipscomb on the road winning 4-3 and are currently in third in the A-SUN. Rene White fuels the attack with 13 goals along with two helpers for a team-leading 28 points. Alejandro Rabell and Andrew Nino each have six assists. Samuel Reisgys boasts a 3-2-3 record in goal, posting a 1.33 goals against average.
FGCU leads the all-time series 3-0, outscoring NJIT in that span, 11-1.
A-SUN Standings
1. FGCU (10 pts, 7-6-2, 3-0-1)
T-2. Stetson (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. UNF (10 pts, 4-5-2, 3-3-1)
3. NJIT (9 pts, 6-4-4, 3-1-0)
4. Lipscomb (3 pts, 3-8-2, 1-3-0)
5. Jacksonville (1 pts, 5-5-2, 0-3-1)
6. Liberty (0 pts, 4-11-0, 0-4-0)
30 minutes prior to the game's 7 p.m. kickoff, the Eagles will honor its senior class members in TC Anderson, Thomas Delplace, Ivan Rosales, Jahan Rajaee, Joao Burti, Miguel Perez, Ryan Medilah, Ernest Mitchell, Jomar Alvarez, Shak Adams and Tom Denat.
The Green and Blue:
FGCU is coming off a 1-0 win over #17 Charlotte Tuesday night at home. Perez netted the game-winner in the 33rd minute as the Eagles held the Niners to five shots (one on goal) in the second half. Forward O'Vonte Mullings leads the Eagles in points (16) with seven goals and two assists. On offense, 11 Eagles have scored for a total of 26 goals along with 22 assists. In net the past six games, Connor Gavigan has gone 4-2-0 with a pair of clean sheets.
Of the 15 matches so far for FGCU, 10 opponents have either been ranked or receiving votes in national polls. Currently, the Eagles have an RPI of 62 which leads all A-SUN programs – their RPI was a high as 20 after the first month of play.
Scouting the Highlanders:
NJIT comes into the Nest after facing Lipscomb on the road winning 4-3 and are currently in third in the A-SUN. Rene White fuels the attack with 13 goals along with two helpers for a team-leading 28 points. Alejandro Rabell and Andrew Nino each have six assists. Samuel Reisgys boasts a 3-2-3 record in goal, posting a 1.33 goals against average.
FGCU leads the all-time series 3-0, outscoring NJIT in that span, 11-1.
A-SUN Standings
1. FGCU (10 pts, 7-6-2, 3-0-1)
T-2. Stetson (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. UNF (10 pts, 4-5-2, 3-3-1)
3. NJIT (9 pts, 6-4-4, 3-1-0)
4. Lipscomb (3 pts, 3-8-2, 1-3-0)
5. Jacksonville (1 pts, 5-5-2, 0-3-1)
6. Liberty (0 pts, 4-11-0, 0-4-0)
FGCU VB @ JU; North Alabama Preview
The FGCU volleyball team (19-3, 7-1 A-SUN) will resume A-SUN Conference on the road as they travel to Jacksonville to take on Jacksonville (7-15, 3-5 A-SUN) at the Historic Swisher Gymnasium Friday night, October 25 at 7 pm before traveling to Florence, Alabama to take on North Alabama (3-19, 1-8 A-SUN) at Flowers Hall Sunday afternoon, October 27 at 2pm EST/1 pm CST.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of another 3-0 shutout win over Bethune-Cookman at home in their final non-conference game of the season and remain in first place in the A-SUN.
What it Do VanLiew:
The Eagles are led offensively by junior Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew. VanLiew has 301 kills along with 143 digs, 19 aces and 34 blocks (seven solo). Against Bethune-Cookman, VanLiew was held to five kills while adding five digs, but it added her career kill total to 1,091 (fourth all-time) and remains 42 shy of surpassing Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. In digs, VanLiew has 682 career digs in which she surpassed Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time in the match against Bethune. Her next milestone will be Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. Meanwhile, blocking-wise, VanLiew has 22 career solo blocks (11th all-time) and needs two to surpass Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time.
Nike or Adidas:
Freshman Erin Shoemaker follows VanLiew with 169 kills to go along with 29 blocks (seven solo). Against Bethune-Cookman, Shoemaker had five kills and four digs.
Lockdown:
Since taking over for Maggie Rick, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has taken a big grasp as starting setter. Lockey leads the team with 829 assists in her name while adding 19 aces, 161 digs and 38 blocks (four solo). Lockey had 35 assists against Bethune-Cookman while adding five kills and a team-leading three blocks (one solo).
In her career, Lockey has 1,237 career assists and needs 168 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Hot and Spicy Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano played only one set against Bethune-Cookman with two kills and a block before being shutdown to rest until the weekend. Serrano currently has 144 kills and 68 blocks (nine solo) in her name. Serrano's two kills put her at 759 in her career and needs 41 to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills. Her next milestone in career kills is Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time Her two blocks put her at 432 in her career and needs four more to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history.
500 Blizzards and Mojos:
Junior Snowy Burnam and senior Giovanna Borgiotti have over 500 kills in their careers and were once in a neck-and-neck battle.
Burnam currently has 134 kills in her name while adding 21 aces, 151 digs and 47 blocks (two solo) while Borgiotti has 45 kills and 11 blocks (one solo) in her name.
Against Bethune-Cookman, Burnam had five kills and four digs while Borgiotti had three kills, an ace, a block and a dig.
Burnam has 579 career kills and recently surpassed Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time and needs 21 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 71 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam has 522 career digs and needs three to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time. Borgiotti has 540 career kills and need 33 to surpass Pudwill for 16th all-time.
Apprentice 1,000:
Sophomore Dana Axner made history against Bethune-Cookmanas she finished with 20 digs, three assists and an ace, and currently has 379 digs in her name along with 20 aces. Her 20 digs made her the seventh player in the program's history to reach 1,000 digs and now has 1,003 in her career. In addition, Axner became the youngest player in program history, the first to achieve the milestone as a sophomore in the Division I era and the second to do it in her first two seasons since Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07). Axner's next milestone is Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had one of best games against Bethune-Cookman as she finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 14 digs while adding three aces. Currently, Carroll has 52 kills, 166 digs and 25 aces in her name. Carroll has the all-time career kills record with 1,447 and needs 53 to reach 1,500. As far as her other milestones, Carroll has 1,168 career digs and 126 aces and needs 14 aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
VanLiew, Serrano, Burnam, Borgiotti and Carroll are the five remaining members to have at least 500 career kills
Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford earned his 134th career win with the Eagles (375th overall) against Bethune-Cookman, while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 286th career win (313th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 74th.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of being shutout by Kennesaw State 3-0 on the road and are sitting in seventh in the A-SUN. Chances are the Dolphins will try to battle for the #6 seed in the conference tournament.
Senior Mallory Mattingly leads the Dolphins offensively with 293 kills and 31 aces.
Freshman Lexi Wierzbicki follows Mattingly with 227 kills, while sophomore Natalie Martin has 785 assists.
Defensively, junior Bailey Fox has 65 blocks in her name (eight solo) with 125 kills while senior Natalie Wehner has 386 digs.
Scouting North Alabama:
The Lions will face Kennesaw State on Friday night, October 25 prior to facing FGCU.
The Lions are coming off of a 3-0 shutout loss to Lipscomb and are in eighth place in the A-SUN.
Offensively, Alyssa Dutton and Annakatherine Griggs lead the Lions with 119 kills each while Morgan Madasz follows with 95 kills.
Breylee Linder has 339 assists overall (4.64 per set) while Mackenzie Sullivan has a team-high 268 digs (4.32 per set). The trio of Griggs (65), Sullivan (46), and Nura Abakar (38) lead the way in blocks.
Series History:
The Eagles hold a 19-11 overall record over the Dolphins which includes a 3-0 shutout win earlier this season at the Alico Arena (10/11).
This will be the fourth time FGCU plays North Alabama as they are 3-0 which includes the 3-0 shutout earlier this season (9/28).
Livestats will be provided for both matches and will air livestream on ESPN+.
ESPN+:
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of another 3-0 shutout win over Bethune-Cookman at home in their final non-conference game of the season and remain in first place in the A-SUN.
What it Do VanLiew:
The Eagles are led offensively by junior Cortney VanLiew. VanLiew. VanLiew has 301 kills along with 143 digs, 19 aces and 34 blocks (seven solo). Against Bethune-Cookman, VanLiew was held to five kills while adding five digs, but it added her career kill total to 1,091 (fourth all-time) and remains 42 shy of surpassing Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. In digs, VanLiew has 682 career digs in which she surpassed Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time in the match against Bethune. Her next milestone will be Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. Meanwhile, blocking-wise, VanLiew has 22 career solo blocks (11th all-time) and needs two to surpass Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time.
Nike or Adidas:
Freshman Erin Shoemaker follows VanLiew with 169 kills to go along with 29 blocks (seven solo). Against Bethune-Cookman, Shoemaker had five kills and four digs.
Lockdown:
Since taking over for Maggie Rick, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has taken a big grasp as starting setter. Lockey leads the team with 829 assists in her name while adding 19 aces, 161 digs and 38 blocks (four solo). Lockey had 35 assists against Bethune-Cookman while adding five kills and a team-leading three blocks (one solo).
In her career, Lockey has 1,237 career assists and needs 168 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Hot and Spicy Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano played only one set against Bethune-Cookman with two kills and a block before being shutdown to rest until the weekend. Serrano currently has 144 kills and 68 blocks (nine solo) in her name. Serrano's two kills put her at 759 in her career and needs 41 to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills. Her next milestone in career kills is Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time Her two blocks put her at 432 in her career and needs four more to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history.
500 Blizzards and Mojos:
Junior Snowy Burnam and senior Giovanna Borgiotti have over 500 kills in their careers and were once in a neck-and-neck battle.
Burnam currently has 134 kills in her name while adding 21 aces, 151 digs and 47 blocks (two solo) while Borgiotti has 45 kills and 11 blocks (one solo) in her name.
Against Bethune-Cookman, Burnam had five kills and four digs while Borgiotti had three kills, an ace, a block and a dig.
Burnam has 579 career kills and recently surpassed Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time and needs 21 to become the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 71 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam has 522 career digs and needs three to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time. Borgiotti has 540 career kills and need 33 to surpass Pudwill for 16th all-time.
Apprentice 1,000:
Sophomore Dana Axner made history against Bethune-Cookmanas she finished with 20 digs, three assists and an ace, and currently has 379 digs in her name along with 20 aces. Her 20 digs made her the seventh player in the program's history to reach 1,000 digs and now has 1,003 in her career. In addition, Axner became the youngest player in program history, the first to achieve the milestone as a sophomore in the Division I era and the second to do it in her first two seasons since Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07). Axner's next milestone is Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had one of best games against Bethune-Cookman as she finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 14 digs while adding three aces. Currently, Carroll has 52 kills, 166 digs and 25 aces in her name. Carroll has the all-time career kills record with 1,447 and needs 53 to reach 1,500. As far as her other milestones, Carroll has 1,168 career digs and 126 aces and needs 14 aces to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
VanLiew, Serrano, Burnam, Borgiotti and Carroll are the five remaining members to have at least 500 career kills
Coach Wins:
Head coach Matt Botsford earned his 134th career win with the Eagles (375th overall) against Bethune-Cookman, while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 286th career win (313th overall) and second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 74th.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of being shutout by Kennesaw State 3-0 on the road and are sitting in seventh in the A-SUN. Chances are the Dolphins will try to battle for the #6 seed in the conference tournament.
Senior Mallory Mattingly leads the Dolphins offensively with 293 kills and 31 aces.
Freshman Lexi Wierzbicki follows Mattingly with 227 kills, while sophomore Natalie Martin has 785 assists.
Defensively, junior Bailey Fox has 65 blocks in her name (eight solo) with 125 kills while senior Natalie Wehner has 386 digs.
Scouting North Alabama:
The Lions will face Kennesaw State on Friday night, October 25 prior to facing FGCU.
The Lions are coming off of a 3-0 shutout loss to Lipscomb and are in eighth place in the A-SUN.
Offensively, Alyssa Dutton and Annakatherine Griggs lead the Lions with 119 kills each while Morgan Madasz follows with 95 kills.
Breylee Linder has 339 assists overall (4.64 per set) while Mackenzie Sullivan has a team-high 268 digs (4.32 per set). The trio of Griggs (65), Sullivan (46), and Nura Abakar (38) lead the way in blocks.
Series History:
The Eagles hold a 19-11 overall record over the Dolphins which includes a 3-0 shutout win earlier this season at the Alico Arena (10/11).
This will be the fourth time FGCU plays North Alabama as they are 3-0 which includes the 3-0 shutout earlier this season (9/28).
Livestats will be provided for both matches and will air livestream on ESPN+.
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or a $39.99 per-year fee based on the viewers subscription choice.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (19-3, 7-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (14-6, 7-1 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-9, 7-2 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (12-8, 5-3 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (7-11, 4-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (10-13, 3-5 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-15, 3-5 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-19, 1-8 A-SUN
9. NJIT (1-22, 0-8 A-SUN)
Livestats Links:
@ JU: https://judolphins.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
@UNA: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=267036&vislive=fguu
Livestream Links:
@ JU: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=f5e2acaa-8864-46b8-88a6-52cd817ba7e9
@ UNA: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=3433713d-e198-4d2b-b2e0-bff8a10c06c3
Livestats Links:
@ JU: https://judolphins.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
@UNA: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=267036&vislive=fguu
Livestream Links:
@ JU: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=f5e2acaa-8864-46b8-88a6-52cd817ba7e9
@ UNA: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=3433713d-e198-4d2b-b2e0-bff8a10c06c3
FGCU S&D vs Vanderbilt Preview
The FGCU swimming & diving team (4-0, 4-0 CCSA) is preparing for its home opener, as the team is set to host Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-1 SEC) in a 4 p.m. meet on Friday, Oct. 25 at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. During the meet, the Eagles will be honoring Cancer Awareness Night and fans are invited to participate in a pink out. "Together, we are stronger than cancer" shirts will be on sale for $15.
After the meet, attendees are encouraged to head over to Alico Arena for Dunk City After Dark, the annual FGCU Hoops kickoff event. Doors open at 6 p.m. and fans can click here for more information.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles had a few weeks off after opening the season with a pair of meets on the road in Jacksonville, Fla. and Statesboro, Ga. against CCSA opponents. The Eagles swept both UNF (185-76) and Campbell (133-128) on Friday, Oct. 4 and then carried the momentum through the following day as the team cruised past Georgia Southern (172-70) and Campbell (146-94).
The team's 4-0 mark is the best record at the start of a season since 2015.
After capturing both the 1M and 3M titles in her collegiate debut, freshman Reese Wakefield took home the Green and Blue's first weekly honor of the season, earning CCSA Diver of the Week (Oct. 7). FGCU received Diver of the Week honors five times throughout last season.
Junior Petra Halmai led the swimmers over the course of the Eagles' opening weekend, picking up four first-place finishes in individual events, as well as contributing to a relay win. She currently leads the CCSA with times in both the 200 fly (2:04.79) and the 200 breast (2:20.06).
In addition to the excitement of earning back-to-back sweeps, multiple FGCU rookies picked up first-place individual finishes in their collegiate debuts. Hannah VanDress took home the 1000-yard freestyle in both meets, while Kaja Reinhardt won the 500 Free in the meet against Campbell and UNF.
Scouting Vanderbilt:
Friday's tilt will mark the first time the Eagles and the Commodores have faced off in a dual meet.
Vanderbilt dropped its season-opener against conference foe Alabama (Oct. 5) by a score of 146-105. The Commodores won four of the meet's 16 events, three of which were individual events. The team also took home the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Vanderbilt was able to pick up its first win of the season during a tri-meet on the road in Michigan (Oct. 11). The Commodores downed Milwaukee by a decisive score of 207-81 before falling to host Oakland 176-118.
Sophomore Lizzy Colwell has picked up three first-place finishes so far this season, the most of any Commodore. Classmate Tonner Debeer has also contributed significant points to the team, tallying a pair of first-place finishes.
Last season, Vanderbilt finished the 2018-19 season at the SEC Championships, where the team finished in 12th place (153 points). The Commodores do not have a diving team and their roster is fairly evenly split between classes.
FGCU S&D vs Power 5:
FGCU holds a 19-22 record against Power 5 Conference teams with a 13-13 record against the ACC, and are looking for their first win a SEC team as they are 0-5.
After the meet, attendees are encouraged to head over to Alico Arena for Dunk City After Dark, the annual FGCU Hoops kickoff event. Doors open at 6 p.m. and fans can click here for more information.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles had a few weeks off after opening the season with a pair of meets on the road in Jacksonville, Fla. and Statesboro, Ga. against CCSA opponents. The Eagles swept both UNF (185-76) and Campbell (133-128) on Friday, Oct. 4 and then carried the momentum through the following day as the team cruised past Georgia Southern (172-70) and Campbell (146-94).
The team's 4-0 mark is the best record at the start of a season since 2015.
After capturing both the 1M and 3M titles in her collegiate debut, freshman Reese Wakefield took home the Green and Blue's first weekly honor of the season, earning CCSA Diver of the Week (Oct. 7). FGCU received Diver of the Week honors five times throughout last season.
Junior Petra Halmai led the swimmers over the course of the Eagles' opening weekend, picking up four first-place finishes in individual events, as well as contributing to a relay win. She currently leads the CCSA with times in both the 200 fly (2:04.79) and the 200 breast (2:20.06).
In addition to the excitement of earning back-to-back sweeps, multiple FGCU rookies picked up first-place individual finishes in their collegiate debuts. Hannah VanDress took home the 1000-yard freestyle in both meets, while Kaja Reinhardt won the 500 Free in the meet against Campbell and UNF.
Scouting Vanderbilt:
Friday's tilt will mark the first time the Eagles and the Commodores have faced off in a dual meet.
Vanderbilt dropped its season-opener against conference foe Alabama (Oct. 5) by a score of 146-105. The Commodores won four of the meet's 16 events, three of which were individual events. The team also took home the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Vanderbilt was able to pick up its first win of the season during a tri-meet on the road in Michigan (Oct. 11). The Commodores downed Milwaukee by a decisive score of 207-81 before falling to host Oakland 176-118.
Sophomore Lizzy Colwell has picked up three first-place finishes so far this season, the most of any Commodore. Classmate Tonner Debeer has also contributed significant points to the team, tallying a pair of first-place finishes.
Last season, Vanderbilt finished the 2018-19 season at the SEC Championships, where the team finished in 12th place (153 points). The Commodores do not have a diving team and their roster is fairly evenly split between classes.
FGCU S&D vs Power 5:
FGCU holds a 19-22 record against Power 5 Conference teams with a 13-13 record against the ACC, and are looking for their first win a SEC team as they are 0-5.
FGCU WGOLF: 42nd Annual Pat Bradley Invite Day Three Recap
The FGCU women's golf team shot a final round 298 (+10) on Tuesday in the 42nd Annual Pat Bradley Invitational to finish third among 17 teams. Their 54-hole total of 874 (+10) is the second best in program history, just ahead of their 876 from last year's event.
"Hats off to Stetson and Florida Atlantic for their wonderful play," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I think this will be a good learning experience for our program. We definitely know what we need to work on for the spring, but also know that we can be in contention. We really tried out there today, but unfortunately you can't win tournaments with counting scores in the 80s. I truly feel that if we put in the work this offseason that we can do great things this spring."
FGCU finished 17 strokes behind their lowest team score over 54 holes, but just five strokes shy of the lowest score in relation to par. All five of their lowest 54-hole team scores have come in the past year and a half.
Top Five 54-Hole Team Scores
2018-19 - Spring Break Shootout - 857 (+5)
2019-20 - 42nd Annual FIU Pat Bradley - 874 (+10)
2018-19 - 41st Annual FIU Pat Bradley - 876 (+12)
2018-19 - Johnie Imes Invitational - 876 (+12)
2019-20 - Jupiter Women's Invitational - 884 (+32)
The Eagles entered the final round in a tie for second place with Stetson, but the Hatters fired a final round 280 (-8) to claim the team championship by four strokes over Florida Atlantic, who shot an 860 (-4).
Senior Ailsa Clark paced the Green and Blue in the event by finishing with an even par 54-hole score of 216, as she tallied a final round 73 (+1). It was the 12th time in program history that someone has produced that total or better, and she finished in a tie for 13th individually. Additionally, she had just four bogey or worse scores over the whole tournament.
Meanwhile, Sarah Edwards finished just one stroke behind Clark with a 217 (+1). The freshman tied Laura Edmonds for the team's third-round low of 72 (E) and finished in a tie for 15th place on the strength of her team-high three birdies.
Edmonds got better each round of the event (75-73-72). After 11 bogey or worse holes for her through the first three rounds, she had just one on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 24th.
Next Up:
Stay tuned to FGCUathletics.com over the coming months as we will release the 2020 spring schedule.
Individual Results
T-13. Ailsa Clark - 71-72-73---216 (E)
T-15. Sarah Edwards - 72-73-72---217 (+1)
T-24. Laura Edmonds - 75-73-72---220 (+4)
T-31. Natalia Nassar - 70-71-81---222 (+6)
T-67. Isabella Portokalis - 74-77-81---232 (+16)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 15)
1. #112 Stetson - 286-290-280---856 (-8)
2. #127 Florida Atlantic - 285-290-285---860 (-4)
3. #126 FGCU - 287-289-298---874 (+10)
4. #90 Florida International - 287-292-297---876 (+12)
5. #75 Gonzaga - 291-297-289---877 (+13)
6. #145 South Alabama - 283-307-291---881 (+17)
7. #115 UTEP - 296-290-296---882 (+18)
8. #135 Cincinnati - 285-299-300---884 (+20)
9. #119 James Madison - 296-291-300---887 (+23)
10. #151 Georgia State - 297-299-298---894 (+30)
11. #149 Eastern Michigan - 300-300-295---895 (+31)
12. #137 Missouri State - 304-300-295---899 (+35)
13. #152 Jacksonville - 303-297-301---901 (+37)
14. #200 UTRGV - 293-307-304---904 (+40)
15. #113 Northern Arizona - 303-305-302---910 (+46)
16. #194 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 303-312-298---913 (+49)
17. #209 McNeese State - 296-306-312---914 (+50)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
FAU: "I am incredibly proud of this team and the progress we are making," said head coach Aimee Neff. "We had a record breaking performance as a program and individually this weekend! Justine played phenomenal golf and it was awesome to see her get her first college win just four tournaments into her college career. She is the complete package as a player and as a person. She no doubt just crushed any previous 54-hole record at FAU and is young in her career. She makes everyone around her better.
Gonzaga: "This team is a bunch of fighters and played hard all day," head coach Brad Rickel said. "They are tired from four days of very hot, humid weather, but just kept marching forward. I am proud of how they moved up on the final day. We never really found our footing on the Bermuda greens after not having a practice round day."
Cincinnati: "The team had to battle some tough conditions today," said head coach Janet Carl. "We are very proud of all the effort as the team fought hard until the end. The difference between yesterday and today was simply birdie putts dropping. Today we had a total of nine birdies which hurt us for sure. Out of the top-six teams, next lowest birdie total was 12. The team needs to go out tomorrow with the same strategy and commitment and see if we can get a few more putts to drop. This team just needs to continue to believe in themselves."
Cincinnati: "Very proud of Alyssa and her top-10 finish," said Janet Carol, Cincinnati director of golf. "This tournament was a complete team effort. We are proud of the effort the team gave at this event. We did some great things and I believe the team is learning that they can compete with these teams. We have some things to clean up before our last event of the fall in 10 days."
James Madison: "We didn't quite finish the way we were hoping to today," said head coach Tommy Baker. "But we had a really strong week that we can definitely build on as we get ready to close out the fall season in a couple weeks. We're also excited for Kendall to pick up her first top-10 finish after a great week of play and we're looking forward to seeing her game continue to get stronger."
Georgia State: “Emma (Berlin) came through with a great round today,” head coach Jessica Steward said. “It is great to see her starting to play so well. She is really starting to figure it out. I think that she is going to keep improving and as she learns, will only get better and become a key contributor to our team.
Jacksonville: "This week was a good challenge," said Head Coach Kathryn Dougan. "This group is determined and really held tough all week. We've got a few things to tighten up in practice, but I am excited for where we are headed going into the spring semester."
Northern Arizona: "It was not our best outing," said head women's golf coach Brad Bedortha. "However, now me know what we need to work on in our last practices leading up to the end of the 2019 fall season. I have full faith that we will be able to come out stronger next time out to close the season."
Texas A&M CC: "It was great to see this team finally break 300, said head coach Joni Stephens. "I knew they were capable, but we have been struggling with finishing our rounds and giving up too many strokes from unforced errors. Today they did a great job of staying in the moment and taking care of each shot, and most importantly, we finished strong as a team. We hit more greens today, giving us more birdie opportunities, and we made some crucial saves for par. Brooklyn is continuing her solid play. Her first round 72 came in spite of near heat exhaustion and she fought the second day to bring in a good round with lingering after effects from the heat. Today she was back in good form and brought in her first sub-par round this fall."
"Hats off to Stetson and Florida Atlantic for their wonderful play," FGCU head coach Sarah Trew said. "I think this will be a good learning experience for our program. We definitely know what we need to work on for the spring, but also know that we can be in contention. We really tried out there today, but unfortunately you can't win tournaments with counting scores in the 80s. I truly feel that if we put in the work this offseason that we can do great things this spring."
FGCU finished 17 strokes behind their lowest team score over 54 holes, but just five strokes shy of the lowest score in relation to par. All five of their lowest 54-hole team scores have come in the past year and a half.
Top Five 54-Hole Team Scores
2018-19 - Spring Break Shootout - 857 (+5)
2019-20 - 42nd Annual FIU Pat Bradley - 874 (+10)
2018-19 - 41st Annual FIU Pat Bradley - 876 (+12)
2018-19 - Johnie Imes Invitational - 876 (+12)
2019-20 - Jupiter Women's Invitational - 884 (+32)
The Eagles entered the final round in a tie for second place with Stetson, but the Hatters fired a final round 280 (-8) to claim the team championship by four strokes over Florida Atlantic, who shot an 860 (-4).
Senior Ailsa Clark paced the Green and Blue in the event by finishing with an even par 54-hole score of 216, as she tallied a final round 73 (+1). It was the 12th time in program history that someone has produced that total or better, and she finished in a tie for 13th individually. Additionally, she had just four bogey or worse scores over the whole tournament.
Meanwhile, Sarah Edwards finished just one stroke behind Clark with a 217 (+1). The freshman tied Laura Edmonds for the team's third-round low of 72 (E) and finished in a tie for 15th place on the strength of her team-high three birdies.
Edmonds got better each round of the event (75-73-72). After 11 bogey or worse holes for her through the first three rounds, she had just one on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 24th.
Next Up:
Stay tuned to FGCUathletics.com over the coming months as we will release the 2020 spring schedule.
Individual Results
T-13. Ailsa Clark - 71-72-73---216 (E)
T-15. Sarah Edwards - 72-73-72---217 (+1)
T-24. Laura Edmonds - 75-73-72---220 (+4)
T-31. Natalia Nassar - 70-71-81---222 (+6)
T-67. Isabella Portokalis - 74-77-81---232 (+16)
Team Standings (#GolfStat ranking as of Oct. 15)
1. #112 Stetson - 286-290-280---856 (-8)
2. #127 Florida Atlantic - 285-290-285---860 (-4)
3. #126 FGCU - 287-289-298---874 (+10)
4. #90 Florida International - 287-292-297---876 (+12)
5. #75 Gonzaga - 291-297-289---877 (+13)
6. #145 South Alabama - 283-307-291---881 (+17)
7. #115 UTEP - 296-290-296---882 (+18)
8. #135 Cincinnati - 285-299-300---884 (+20)
9. #119 James Madison - 296-291-300---887 (+23)
10. #151 Georgia State - 297-299-298---894 (+30)
11. #149 Eastern Michigan - 300-300-295---895 (+31)
12. #137 Missouri State - 304-300-295---899 (+35)
13. #152 Jacksonville - 303-297-301---901 (+37)
14. #200 UTRGV - 293-307-304---904 (+40)
15. #113 Northern Arizona - 303-305-302---910 (+46)
16. #194 Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 303-312-298---913 (+49)
17. #209 McNeese State - 296-306-312---914 (+50)
Quotes from Other Coaches:
FAU: "I am incredibly proud of this team and the progress we are making," said head coach Aimee Neff. "We had a record breaking performance as a program and individually this weekend! Justine played phenomenal golf and it was awesome to see her get her first college win just four tournaments into her college career. She is the complete package as a player and as a person. She no doubt just crushed any previous 54-hole record at FAU and is young in her career. She makes everyone around her better.
Gonzaga: "This team is a bunch of fighters and played hard all day," head coach Brad Rickel said. "They are tired from four days of very hot, humid weather, but just kept marching forward. I am proud of how they moved up on the final day. We never really found our footing on the Bermuda greens after not having a practice round day."
Cincinnati: "The team had to battle some tough conditions today," said head coach Janet Carl. "We are very proud of all the effort as the team fought hard until the end. The difference between yesterday and today was simply birdie putts dropping. Today we had a total of nine birdies which hurt us for sure. Out of the top-six teams, next lowest birdie total was 12. The team needs to go out tomorrow with the same strategy and commitment and see if we can get a few more putts to drop. This team just needs to continue to believe in themselves."
Cincinnati: "Very proud of Alyssa and her top-10 finish," said Janet Carol, Cincinnati director of golf. "This tournament was a complete team effort. We are proud of the effort the team gave at this event. We did some great things and I believe the team is learning that they can compete with these teams. We have some things to clean up before our last event of the fall in 10 days."
James Madison: "We didn't quite finish the way we were hoping to today," said head coach Tommy Baker. "But we had a really strong week that we can definitely build on as we get ready to close out the fall season in a couple weeks. We're also excited for Kendall to pick up her first top-10 finish after a great week of play and we're looking forward to seeing her game continue to get stronger."
Georgia State: “Emma (Berlin) came through with a great round today,” head coach Jessica Steward said. “It is great to see her starting to play so well. She is really starting to figure it out. I think that she is going to keep improving and as she learns, will only get better and become a key contributor to our team.
Jacksonville: "This week was a good challenge," said Head Coach Kathryn Dougan. "This group is determined and really held tough all week. We've got a few things to tighten up in practice, but I am excited for where we are headed going into the spring semester."
Northern Arizona: "It was not our best outing," said head women's golf coach Brad Bedortha. "However, now me know what we need to work on in our last practices leading up to the end of the 2019 fall season. I have full faith that we will be able to come out stronger next time out to close the season."
Texas A&M CC: "It was great to see this team finally break 300, said head coach Joni Stephens. "I knew they were capable, but we have been struggling with finishing our rounds and giving up too many strokes from unforced errors. Today they did a great job of staying in the moment and taking care of each shot, and most importantly, we finished strong as a team. We hit more greens today, giving us more birdie opportunities, and we made some crucial saves for par. Brooklyn is continuing her solid play. Her first round 72 came in spite of near heat exhaustion and she fought the second day to bring in a good round with lingering after effects from the heat. Today she was back in good form and brought in her first sub-par round this fall."
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