After the final day of competition at the Phill Hansel Invitational, FGCU swimming & diving (6-4, 4-0 CCSA) earned a ninth-place finish among the 13-team field. Day three of the invitational was highlighted by junior Petra Halmai's record-setting performance in the 200 Breast; Halmai's time of 2:10.86 eclipsed the previous school record, held by her, of 2:11.21. That time also stands as a new CCSA Conference record.
"What an incredible final session for our team," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Petra setting the school record in the 200 Breast was a big surprise, as she has her Olympic qualifying meet in a couple of weeks. Ultimately, the relay DQ and our lack of platform experience cost us in the team standings. However, the team did an incredible job competing and walking away with new season and lifetime bests. We are starting to see the potential of our program and are setting up well for CCSAs."
In addition to Halmai's heroics, the Eagles were represented by seven different athletes in today's finals.
Freshman Michaela Sizemore and classmate Hannah VanDress tallied a combined 20 points in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing within one second of each other at 16th and 17th, respectively. Sizemore's 17:19.86 was good for a season-best.
In the 200 Back finals, FGCU was also represented by a pair of Eagles, as senior Elizabeth Zeiger and freshman Julia Rodriguez collected points for the team. Zeiger earned a 15th-place finish, while Rodriguez swam a season-best 2:03.73 en route to finishing 21st.
Sophomore Wiktoria Czarnecka built on the strong performances she has posted throughout the invite, claiming fifth in the 100 Free. Earlier in the day, she notched a personal best in the prelims after swimming a 50.01. She was just 0.02 second off of that pace in the final.
The 200 Breast event saw a trio of Eagles qualify for the finals. Halmai's record-setting performance was good for second place overall, while freshman Anna Hogan and senior Elizabeth White finished 21st and 23rd, respectively.
Halmia and Rodriguez scored the final points of the invitational for the Green and Blue, as the pair combined for 39 points in the 200 Fly. Halmai earned another second-place finish after swimming a 1:59.35 in the final. Rodriguez' 2:07.69 was good for 16th.
Excluding the teams that brought just diving, the Eagles would have earned a sixth-place finish among the highly-competitive 13-team field. The Houston Cougars, who hosted the invitational, finished the weekend atop the final team standings.
Team Standings:
1. Houston – 1,737 points
2. Rice – 1,144 points
3. Washington State – 913 points
4. Tulane – 716 points
5. University of Nevada – 699 points
6. UC Davis – 621 points
7. Colorado State – 614 points
8. Air Force – 568 points
9. FGCU – 554 points
10. Northern Colorado – 403 points
11. North Texas – 81 points
12. New Mexico – 8 points
13. University of Nebraska Omaha – 2 points
Up Next:
The Phill Hansel Invitational concluded the 2019 competition slate for the Eagles, who will have a break before returning to action on Saturday, Jan. 4. That day, FGCU is set to host Tulane, Illinois State and conference rival Liberty in a noon meet at the FGCU Aquatics Complex.
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