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.