FGCU Softball Bios

With each new season means a whole new change in another team. For this bios blog, I will be introducing the FGCU softball team. Last season, the softball team went 30-30 with an 8-9 record in conference. They were able to make it to the conference tournament before falling to USC Upstate in the championship game.

During the season, the team played several teams for their tough season. Aside from playing against UCF, FAU, FIU and USF, the Eagles also got the opportunity to play in the Triple Crown Sports Puerto Vallarta Challenge. Although they went 1-4 in the tournament, the Eagles did manage to beat Fresno State, who was ranked No. 21 in the nation at the time and played against FSU, who was No. 1 in the nation despite losing both games. It was an experience though for the team.

Of course at all the softball games I attended, I always do my cheer every time we score: "FGCU Let's Get Hype, Whoop There It Is!"


The team is led by head coach David Deiros, who is entering into his 15th season as head coach and is considered the "founding father" of FGCU softball.

Deiros, a Naples native, was a graduate of USF and became a chemistry teacher and a coach at Lely High School. Deiros coached football, girls' basketball, baseball and, of course, softball.

In his first year as head coach at FGCU, Deiros led the team to a astonishing 57-7 record and their first invitation to the NCAA National Tournament in just their second year of eligibility for postseason play. He did so well that he won Division I-II All-Independent Coach of the Year three consecutive times as well as the memorable moment in 2012 when the Eagles went to the NCAA College Softball National Tournament and beat the gators in their opening game.

In the 2016 season, Deiros was named Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year and helped Louie Ross, Ashley Dobson and Makensie McAvoy to their successful senior years.

When I first met coach Deiros, I was a little nervous because he seemed very intimidating to speak to, let alone meet in person, but after a while in the season, he was actually pretty nice. This season, he is going to rock the house for the softball team.

With the departure of assistant coaches Erika Bennett and Lindsay Ubrun, it seemed hard to find replacements for them, but that was not the case. Deiros found two perfect candidates: Jamie Kertes and Jaime Edwards.


The first is Jamie Kertes.

A native of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Kertes enters her first season as an assistant coach and will be working primarily with pitching and at first base.

Prior to FGCU and coaching, Kertes started her softball career as a player for Bowling Green State University of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

From her freshman to senior year, Kertes was a stronghold for the Falcons. In her four-year career at BGSU, Kertes set career pitching records for appearances (176) and games started (111), third on the BGSU career lists for strikeouts (512) and shutouts (23) and fourth in school history in wins (52) and strikeouts per seven innings (5.17) and fifth in innings pitched (693 1/3).

After her senior year, Kertes took a position as an assistant coach for Stony Brook for a two-year stint where she coached the Seawolves to the second-lowest ERA in the American East Conference.

With her pitching experience, Kertes is gonna make great impact for the rotation of FGCU's pitchers.


The other coach joining the fray is Jaime Edwards.

Edwards, a native of Austin, Texas, enters her first season as an assistant coach and will be working mainly with fielding.

Prior to FGCU and her coaching career, Edwards played for the University of Houston of, at the time, Conference USA (C-USA). At the plate, Edwards hit .277 with 18 doubles and eight home runs while driving in 67 runs. Edwards sits fourth all-time in fielding percentage (.987), while holding career- and single-season marks for double plays turned (64, 24). In addition, Edwards was a three-time NFCA Academic All-American and a member of the 2012 Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

After her playing career at Houston ended, Edwards went to coach at NCAA DII West Texas A&M of the Lone Star Conference for two years. During that time, she was a member of the 2016 NFCA South Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year and helped the Lady Buffs finish 59-5, winning Super Regionals and making an appearance in the Division II Spring Sports Festival. Last year saw West Texas A&M once again make it to Regionals behind a 49-11 record.

With a new wave returning to DI, Edwards will surely show what she's made of.

With a new team means a new wave of players coming and returners returning.

FGCU lost catcher Brianna Tourtillott, catcher Amber Plaza, pitcher Taylor Wade, second baseman Jeanie Verderese and former FGCU swimmer Evita Leter as they graduated.

Juniors Caley Chapel and Morgan Sutherland, sophomore Ariana Branstiter and senior Gabbee Draney have parted ways from the team.

Nonetheless, this year's team consists of eight seniors, two true juniors, four transfers (two sophomores and two juniors), one true sophomore and eight freshman.

The six seniors have been the backbones for the softball team: Natalie Lopez (OF), Emily Demrius (2B), Kelsey Huff (OF), Ashley Swiderski (2B), Brittany McGuire (1B/3B), Erica Ward (1B/3B), Bri Innamorato (SS/3B) and LuLu Newmark (C).


The first of eight seniors is my best friend: Natalie Lopez.

The 5-6 outfielder from Miami, Florida has a lot of fire to make the place burn down and a striking fielding ability like a napalm strike.

In her freshman year, Nat started 30 of her 50 games played batting a .328 batting average with 21 hits, six RBIs, 14 runs scored, and eight stolen bases. She also had an .871 fielding percentage.

When sophomore year came around, her batting average went down to .268 and had one RBI, but she had 22 hits, 22 runs, and seven stolen bases. Lopez also had .983 fielding percentage, and to make matters much sweeter, Nat made a Sportscenter Top 10 Play nomination during the A-Sun Conference softball tournament making a diving catch against Kennesaw State.

In her junior year, Lopez started all 59 games where she batted .333 with 54 hits, 24 runs, eight RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a .988 fielding percentage.

With her quick fielding, Nat will strike down more than just stopping the ball from hitting the ground.


If you need a player who can play strong on the field as well as play the drum on the bench to get the team fired up, then you're looking at Emily Demurias.

The 5'4 infielder from Miami, Florida is a drumming sensation.

In her freshman year, it was not her strongest year. Starting four of her 30 games she played, Demurias batted .150 with three hits, two runs, two RBIs, and a stolen base.

When sophomore year came, she got better and played mainly as a pinch runner. Starting eight of her 36 games played, Demurias batted .214 with three hits, 10 runs and a stolen base.

In her junior year, Demurias started nine of her 41 games played, Demurias batted .174 with four hits, nine runs, one RBI, and one stolen base.

This season, Demurias will surely make impact for her last season.


If you see someone that has the speed like the Flash, then you just saw Kelsey Huff.

The 5'7" outfielder from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida can show it more than tell it.

In her freshman year, Huff started 39 of the 48 games, batting .331 with 40 hits, 31 runs, seven RBIs, and 22 stolen bases. She also had 12 multi-hit games and did so well that she was named to the A-SUN All-Freshman team.

When sophomore year came, Huff got better starting 58 of her 59 games played while hitting .366 with 75 hits, 46 runs, eight doubles, a triple, a home run, 20 RBIs and a team-leading 25 stolen bases. She earned A-SUN All-Conference Second Team honors for her hard work.

It was Huff's junior that made it worth while. Starting all 60 games, Huff batted .363 with 77 hits (three doubles, six triples), 21 RBIS and 29 stolen bases. She did so well that she earned A-SUN All-Conference First Team honors.

With her speed, Huff will show that she can blow the house down.


Taking over for Verderese in the huddle is Ashley Swiderski.

The 5'6" second baseman from Naples, Florida will give it all she's got.

In her freshman year, Swiderski was off to a rocky start. She started 17 of her 33 games played and batted .042 with 2 hits, 5 RBIs and 2 runs.

Unfortunately, in her sophomore Swiderski did not play the whole season due to injury and used a medical redshirt, but her redemption season came into play drastically junior year as she got better. Swiderski batted .163 with 17 hits, 13 runs, five doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBIs and stolen base.

For Swiderski, her redemption will continue to make wonders.



You want a player who has a great amount of power, then you can turn to Brittany McGuire.

The 5'8" third baseman/first baseman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida has the power to knock down Mt. St. Helens.

In her freshman year, she started 42 of her 45 games batting .223 with 25 hits, eight doubles, 23 runs, four home runs, 26 RBIs and four stolen bases.

In her sophomore year, McGuire did not have the best season and missed a little over a month due to injury, but came back. She started 11 of the 35 games batting .163 with nine hits, three doubles, two home runs, three runs and nine RBIs.

In her junior year, McGuire's redemption came into play at good measures. Starting 55 of her 56 games played, McGuire batted .219 with 33 hits, nine doubles, one triple, four home runs and 18 RBIs.

For McGuire, she will show her power game is ready for one more round.


The next person is someone who I have known for a good while personally from another collegiate level and that's Erica Ward.

The 5'8" junior third baseman from Jacksonville, Florida was one of Deiros top recruits to come play for FGCU last year.

Prior to FGCU, Erica played for State College of Florida (SCF) of the Suncoast Conference in NJCAA Region 8. She originally played catcher and occasionally shortstop for SCF.

In her freshman year, she batted .353 with 47 hits, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, and 24 RBIs.

When sophomore year came, Ward batted .331 with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs and scored 43 runs.

When I heard that she signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) with FGCU last year, I was so happy for her to join.

In her junior year at FGCU, Ward went on a tear in the beginning of the season. Starting 12 of her 15 games played, she batted .273 with nine hits, three runs, one double, one triple, one home run and eight RBIs before ending her season early due to a knee injury.

With the road to recovery, Ward will get the redemption she deserves.


Next up to the plate (no pun intended) is my other best friend: Bri Innamorato.

The 5'9" infielder from Mullica Hill, New Jersey can play every infield position at anytime as well as designated hitter.

In her freshman year, Bri had a little rocky start. Starting six of her 25 games, Innamorato batted .111 with two hits and a stolen base.

By the time sophomore year came around, Innamorato got better. Starting 44 of her 52 games played, Innamorato batted .233 with 28 hits, 10 runs, 13 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. She did so well that she earned A-SUN Second Team All-Conference Honors.

It was Innamorato's junior year that turned heads. In the first four games, she batted .875, which led the nation. She finished batting .265 with 40 hits, seven doubles, two home runs, 20 RBIs and six stolen bases. She earned A-SUN Second Team All-Conference Honors for the second-straight season.

For Innamorato's final season, she will make her presence known that she's coming.


Lastly on the team for seniors is LuLu Newmark.

The 5'3" catcher from Pembroke Pines, Florida can bring the rhythm to the bat.

Prior to FGCU, LuLu played for Bowling Green of the Mid-American Conference. Starting 13 of her 19 games played, she batted .120 with three hits, one run and four RBIs.

When she transferred her sophomore, LuLu made a great transition at FGCU. Starting 24 of the 33 games she played, Newmark batted .226 with 14 hits, three doubles, three runs, one home run and nine RBIs.

In her junior year, it was Newmark's time to shine. Starting 43 of her 49 games played, Newmark batted .217 with 25 hits, two doubles, two triples, four home runs and 11 RBIs. She did so well that she was named on the A-SUN Conference All-Tournament Team.

For Newmark, she will bring plenty of rhythm to make the magic happen.


The returning juniors on the team are very impacting for the backbone: Riley Randolph (LHP) and Racquel Fournet (OF).


The first of two is who I can consider to be my twin is Riley Randolph. The 5'8" left-handed pitcher from St. Petersburg, Florida has enough pitching power to make Aroldis Chapman go "WHAAAATTT."

In her freshman year, Riley tore the opposing teams' houses down as the starting ace pitcher. In 33 games, Riley had a record of 16-5 with a 1.39 ERA, 10 complete games (six shutouts), four saves and 123 strikeouts. She was so successful, she was named A-Sun Freshman and Pitcher of the Year, A-Sun First Team honors, A-Sun All-Conference Freshman Tean and Third Team NFCA All-South Region honoree.

In her sophomore year, Randolph, remaining as the ace pitcher, produced an 18-11 record with a 2.06 ERA, 19 complete games (four shutouts), two saves and 160 strikeouts. She was named on the A-SUN Conference All-Tournament Team for her hard work.

Riley is definitely going to be a powerful asset to the pitching rotation yet again.


The other junior that also known for being called "Rac City" is Racquel Fournet.

The 5'6" first baseman turned returned outfielder from Windermere, Florida is the main natural lefty for the power game.

In her freshman year, as a first baseman, Fournet took the power game by storm. Starting all 59 games she played in, she batted .354 with 63 hits, 18 runs, a team-leading seven home runs, 45 RBIs and one stolen base. She did so well that she was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team and earned A-Sun First Team honors.

In her sophomore year, still at first base, Fournet started all 60 games she played in. She batted .299 with 49 hits, 31 runs, 16 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 41 RBIs and three stolen bases, thus earning Second Team All-Conference honors as well as her first career All-Academic Team selection.

For Fournet and her new found role returning to the outfield, she's here to show the world that "Rac City" is ready.

FGCU managed to pick up fout new transfers to the team: Kate Kelly (OF- Seminole State College), Brooke Clemens (C- Florida), Bri Bennett (C- Lake Sumter College) and Addy Simpson (SS/RHP- Albany).


The first of four transfers is Kate Kelly.

The 5-7 outfielder from Cape Coral, Florida comes to FGCU with plenty of speed.

Prior to FGCU, Kelly played one season with Seminole State College of the Suncoast Conference in NJCAA Region 8. There, Kelly hit .417 and drove in 24 runs and swiped 48 stolen bases. She did so well there that she earned All-State and All-Conference honors in addition to a nod on the FCSAA All-Tournament team.

Kelly joins the team as a redshirt sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining, but you can imagine the speed from Kelly is coming.


Next on the team is one of my personal favorite transfers: Brooke Clemens.

The 5-9 catcher from West Rotunda, Florida came with plenty of power.

Prior to FGCU, Clemens spent her first two years at Florida of the SEC.

In her freshman year, Clemens played in nine games and batted .143 with one RBI and a walk.

In her sophomore year, Clemens started two of  22 games played batting .136 with three hits, one home run and five runs before transferring to FGCU.

Clemens comes to FGCU as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining, but I can assure that her power will come into play strongly.


Another powerful player joining McGuire, Fournet and Clemens is Bri Bennett.

The 5-6 catcher from Jacksonville, Florida comes with a powerful purpose.

Prior to FGCU, Bennett started her first two years at Lake Sumter State College of the Mid-Florida Conference in the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8.

There, as a freshman, Bennett batted .307 with 46 hits, 25 runs, seven doubles, 14 home runs, 38 RBIs and six stolen bases.

In her sophomore year, Bennett batted .300 with 84 hits, 34 runs, 26 doubles, 15 home runs, 72 RBIs and three stolen bases.

She earned First Team Mid-Conference honors and NFCA Second Team All-Region honoree as a result of her hard work.

Bennett still holds single season records for most home runs (15), RBIs (72), doubles (26) and walks, and career records for home runs (29), RBIs (109), doubles (33), walks (59) as well as being in the top five in hits (124).

Bennett joins FGCU as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining and you can guarantee her power will come into play with ease.


The final transfer for FGCU is Addy Simpson.

The 5-7 shortstop/right-handed pitcher from Delray Beach, Florida comes to FGCU with a better opportunity.

Prior to FGCU, Simpson played her freshman year at the University of Albany of the America East Conference (AEC). Simpson started 16 of her 24 games played batting .159 with seven hits, four runs, two doubles and nine RBIS.

Simpson joins FGCU as a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining as a shortstop, but you can bet she will put her foot in the door and make it happen.


For Morgan White, being the only true sophomore on the team seems scary, but in reality, it's a confidence boost.

The 6' right-handed pitcher from Ocala, Florida is always ready for the challenge.

In her freshman year, White was utilized offensively as a designated hitter and as a pitcher. In 34 games, White, as a DH, batted .194 with 12 hits, three runs, five doubles, one home run and six RBIs.

As a pitcher, White struggled and was mainly used in relief. She had a 2-4 record with a 5.68 ERA and 22 strikeouts.

For White, her chance for redemption as a pitcher will come in good time.

Now how about those freshman? FGCU managed to sign eight true freshman: Ahnie Jumper (C/3B), Haley Morrell (SS), Ashley Biddle (1B), Riley McCarthy (C), Marissa Mesiemore (RHP/3B), Farley Callaghan (OF) and Taylor Bauman (RHP).


The first of eight freshman is Ahnie Jumper.

The 5-6 catcher/third baseman from Clewiston, Florida comes into play with ease.

Prior to signing with FGCU, Jumper played for Plantation American Heritage High School under head coach Marty Cooper. In her senior year, she batted .488 with 21 hits, 16 runs, six doubles, one triple, one home run and 20 RBIs. In 89 games, from seventh grade to senior year, Jumper batted a career .366 with 67 hits, 48 runs and 49 RBIs.

In addition, she was a three-time state champion and a First Team All-County selection and helped her high school to a Class 6A runner-up finish.

For Jumper, she will make her presence ready for her first year.


Coming into play on deck with a strong will is Haley Morrell.

The 5-7 shortstop from Tampa, Florida is here to represent the Tampa Bay area.

Prior to FGCU, Morrell played for the Academy of Holy Names under head coach Kevin Vargas. There, Morrell batted a .477 career batting average and 20 career home runs including batting .500 her senior year with 11 home runs and 24 RBIs.

As a result of her hard work, Morrell earned Defensive Player of the Year both freshman and sophomore year, named Academy of Holy Names' Offensive Player of the Year her junior year, earned Second Team All-County and Miracle Softball All-State Honorable Mention.

For Morrell and her experiences, she will turn heads with ease.


To back up McGuire and Ward, Ashley Biddle is here.

The 5-4 first baseman from Trenton, Florida fills the gap perfectly to back up both McGuire and Ward.

Prior to FGCU, Biddle played for Trenton High School under head coach Todd Bryant. There she hit .412 at Trenton High School, driving in 111 runs on 24 doubles through her first three seasons including batting .564 with 44 hits and 33 RBIs as a sophomore.

Biddle earned All-State honors twice and was named a three-time Gainesville Sun All-Area selection.

For Biddle, this will be one thrill of an adventure.


Catchers are one of the hardest positions to compete for and Riley McCarthy is one of the players to compete with.

The 5-6 catcher from Manassas, Virginia is one of two players not from Florida, but that makes no difference.

Prior to FGCU, McCarthy played at Brentsville District High School under head coach Ted Lyons. She lettered all four years where she was a two-time All-State selection, three-time All-Region and four-time All-Conference selection batting a .467 career batting average. McCarthy is also the Virginia state record holder in hits (106).

For McCarthy, she may have some competition with Newmark, Clemens and Bennett, but she can pull it off.


To help Randolph and White in the pitching rotation, Marissa Mesiemore is ready for that.

The 5-7 right-handed pitcher/third baseman from Bushnell, Florida has the capability that Deiros needs.

Prior to FGCU, Mesiemore played for South Sumter High School under head coach Drew Noe. As a batter, Mesiemore, a four year letterwinner, batted a .399 batting average, including a .446 batting average her senior year with 29 career home runs and 113 career RBIs.

As a pitcher, Mesiemore recorded 23 wins with a 0.80 ERA while striking out 271 batters her junior year and a career total 793 strikeouts. She also led South Sumter to the final four of the District 5A State Finals.

The pitching is surely gonna rock the house with Mesiemore in the rotation


To add more depth in the outfield with Huff, Lopez, Fournet and Kelly, Farley Callaghan comes into play.

The 5-5 outfielder from Ponte Vedra, Florida comes in with great passion.

Prior to FGCU, Callaghan played for Ponte Vedra High School under head coach Gordie Rolison. There, Callaghan led the Sharks to a 20-6 record in 2016 behind 26 RBIs while playing travel ball with Florida Select and finished ninth at the ASA 18U National Championship in Oklahoma. She also hit better than .340 in each of her previous five seasons in travel ball.

For Calaghan and her travel ball experience, she is surely gonna make impact with FGCU.


Last, but not least to add more depth to the pitching rotation is Taylor Bauman.

The 5-6 right-handed pitcher from Jacksonville, Florida joins Randolph, White and Mesimore with competition.

Prior to FGCU, Bauman played for Atlantic Coast High School under head coach David Matchett.

There, she recorded a 2.65 ERA while striking out 222 batters her junior while also hitting .368 with nine home runs. She ended her season as a pitcher with a 2.00 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

For Bauman, she will show what she's got in the rotation.

I got to meet all of the new players and I must say they're really cool to talk to. The new coaches were also really nice and I was glad to make them feel welcome to FGCU.

I'm really looking forward to the new season and see how everything works out with the team and still use my cheer.

PC: FGCUathletics.com

FGCU Women's Basketball Bios

After another successful, the FGCU women's basketball team prepares for another new season, and with a new season comes a new team. After going 26-9 with a 12-2 record in the A-SUN, the team went all the way to the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed in the tournament where they defeated Stetson by a score of 77-70 in the finals and earned an automatic bid to the national tournament.

Sadly, they lost a very controversial game to Miami in the first round, but made history with the men's basketball team as the first time both the men's and women's teams secured a spot in the national tournament.


The team is led by Karl Smesko, who is entering his 15th season as head coach.

Smesko is so far the only coach that has coached FGCU women's basketball since it started as an NAIA school in 1997.

Prior to coaching for FGCU, Smesko began as a head coach at NCAA D2 Walsh University of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). There, he led the Cavaliers to the 1998 NAIA Division II National Championship with a 29-5 mark in which he was named the Mid-Ohio Conference and NAIA National Coach of the Year.

After his tenure with Walsh, Smesko landed a position with Maryland as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach for Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) of the Summit League and turned the program around.

After his two-year tenure with the Mastadons, Smesko landed the job as head coach for FGCU.

In his first season, Smesko led the Eagles to a 30-1 record when the Eagles were just transitioning to being an independent team in NCAA D2.

In his third season, Smesko led the Eagles to the NCAA tournament and a 29-2 record in 2005-06.

In his fourth season as head coach, Smesko's Eagles finished the regular season undefeated and ranked number one in the nation. The team won the South Region championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game where they were National Runner up and finished with a 34-1 record.

After the Eagles' transition to D1 during the 2006-07 year, Smesko led the women’s basketball team to a second place finish in the A-SUN with a 13-3 record. They were the fifth best offensive team in the A-SUN as well as the second best defense. They were second in free throw percentage and third in field goal percentage.

In 2008-09, Smesko, who was voted A-SUN Coach of the Year, led the Eagles to a Regular Season A-SUN Championship with a 17-3 record. FGCU led the A-SUN in scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, and three-point field goals made during the 2008-09 season. The Eagles also cemented a place in the All-Time A-SUN record books by winning 17 conference games. The Eagles lost to eventual champion USF in the second round of the WNIT and finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 26-5.

During the 2009-10 season, the Eagles posted 24 wins to secure the program’s seventh 21-plus win season in the eight-year program history, along with a second place finish in the A-SUN Conference. FGCU received the program’s first invitation to play in the WNIT, where they advanced to the second round with a win over UTEP before falling to New Mexico and Georgia Tech, and also secured their third consecutive postseason WNIT automatic bid. By participating in the 2010 postseason WNIT, FGCU became the first A-SUN school to make three consecutive WNIT appearances. In addition, the Blue and Green also extended its home winning streak to 24 games, which ranks as the fourth longest home winning streak in Division I women’s basketball heading into the 2010-11 campaign.

Smesko saw the program nearly earn its first-ever top-25 national ranking as they earned the No. 26 spot in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Eagles would finish the 2011-12 season at No. 37 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, while also finishing ranked No. 4 in the final version of the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. FGCU concluded its season with an RPI of 59, 67 spots ahead of the next closest A-SUN member. During the course of the record setting 2011-12 season, Smesko won his 300th career game on Dec. 19 against USC Upstate. The victory was one of 17 games that the Eagles won by 20+ points during the campaign. For his efforts, Smesko was named the A-SUN Coach of the Year for the third time. FGCU finished with a 29-3 overall record and went undefeated through the A-SUN regular season en route to becoming the first A-SUN school to post an 18-0 record in conference play. He was also named Kay Yow National Coach of the Year, CollegeSportsMadness.com Mid-Major and A-SUN Coach of the Year.

During the 2012-13 season, Smesko finished with another A-SUN Coach of the Year award and another College Sports Madness A-SUN Coach of the year, while also earning CSM's Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. FGCU became the first school to go undefeated in A-Sun play in back-to-back seasons, finishing the season with the most victories (27) of the 13 Division I institutions in the state of Florida and capturing the program’s third consecutive A-SUN Regular Season crown. FGCU also secured the ninth-straight 21+ win in program history and participated in their sixth consecutive Division I postseason tournament (WNIT). Leading the nation and the ASUN in three-point field goals per game (9.4), for the second year in a row, the Green and Blue ranked in the top 40 in the country in 13 different statistical categories in the final NCAA rankings.

Under his direction, the team completed the 2013-14 season with a record of 26-8 including a 17-1 mark in conference action.  The Eagles won their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-SUN Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons.  With the A-SUN Championship, the Green and Blue earned another NCAA Tournament appearance, where they fell to eventual Sweet 16 team and no. 5 seed Oklahoma State in overtime.  The 2013-14 season marked the 10th-consecutive season in which a Smesko coached team won at least 20 games.

The 2014-15 campaign saw historic breakthroughs for the FGCU women's basketball team. Smesko's squad finished the season with a record of 31-3 for the program's third 30-win season. The team compiled a win streak of 26 games to rank third in the nation and went undefeated in A-SUN Conference play for the third time, winning all 14 regular season games. With the team's success, the program earned its first-ever Division I national ranking, checking in at high as the No. 20 team and finishing the season at No. 21. With Smesko's leadership, the team also earned its first DI NCAA Tournament win with a 75-67 win over 10th-seeded Oklahoma State.

The 2015-16 season stands as one of the program’s most historic years. The squad finished with a record of 33-6 to set a new Division I win record. The win total stood just one shy of the all-time record and included a 14-0 record in A-SUN action. The team produced an unblemished league record for the fourth time in five seasons and won its sixth-straight regular season title with the performance. The Eagles were upset by Jacksonville University in the A-SUN Championship Final but took the league’s automatic bid to the WNIT Tournament where they made the most of the opportunity. The Eagles hosted Bethune-Cookman, Wake Forest, Tulane, Hofstra and Michigan in the opening rounds of the tournament and earned five-straight wins by a margin of over 15 points per game. The Michigan semifinal matchup drew a program-record crowd that sold out Alico Arena for the first time in women’s basketball history.

In 2016-17, Smesko rallied the Eagles from a 2-5 start to their seventh-straight 25-win campaign, which culminated in the team's fourth NCAA tournament appearance in six seasons of eligibility. The unit finished with a 26-9 record, while reinforcing it's "Raining Threes" mantra with 338 triples, third-most in the country. After finishing second in the conference in regular season play, FGCU downed North Florida and Jacksonville en route to the ASUN Championship game against first-seeded Stetson where the Eagles overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Following the come-from-behind victory, FGCU received  a 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they faced 4th-seeded Miami in the First Round in a controversial loss

Smesko, to me, is still considered the godfather of FGCU women's basketball and "Raining 3s",and with the help of his assistant coaches, Chelsea Banbury, Chelsea Lyles, Jenna Cobb and video coordinator Stephanie Haas, there is no stopping him.

   

The team did lose six players: Jordin Alexander, Mikala McGhee, Haley Laughter, Sydnei McCaskill, Morgan Mecham and Tayler Goodall.

Alexander used her last year of eligibility after transferring from Brown as a grad student.

McGhee was unable to join due to eligibility issues after transferring from Missouri State and George Mason.

Mecham transferred to Oklahoma State, but it is not clear if she is playing or not.

Laughter and McCaskill have graduated and Goodall quit.

Currently on the team are five seniors, four transfers, four sophomores and four freshman.

The five seniors have been the backbones for Raining 3's since day one: Jessica Cattani (G), Erica Nelson (G), China Dow (G), Rosemarie Julien (F) and Taylor Grandijan (G)


The first of five seniors is Jessica Cattani. The 5-7 redshirt senior guard from Muskego, Wisconsin came in with slashing ability to outlast John Wall.

In her freshman year, Cattani was a walk-on for the team and utilized a redshirt to maintain all four years.

In her redshirt freshman year, Cattani was off to a slow start. She appeared in 20 where she shot 1.1 points per game (20 points) with 0.6 rebounds per game (12 rebounds) and 0.6 assists per game (11 assists).

In her redshirt sophomore year, Cattani got more playing time and got better. In 27 games, she averaged 2.2 ppg (59 points), 1.1 rpg (29 rebounds) and 0.4 apg (11 assists). She added 11 steals and one block as well

It was Cattani's redshirt junior year that made her time to shine. Cattani became a strong asset as a starter and as a role player off the bench. Starting 11 of her 33 games played, Cattani averaged 6.7 ppg (220 points) including a career-high 21 points against Lipscomb, 1.8 rpg (59 rebounds) and 1.2 apg (39 assists). Cattani also added 18 steals and one more block to her regime.

With her slashing ability, Cattani will give everything she's got for this season.


Next up is Erica Nelson. The 5-8 guard from Kansas City, Missouri came to make a statement with FGCU.

Prior to FGCU, Nelson spent her first two years at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) of the Kansas Jayhawk Conference in NJCAA DII Region VI.

In her freshman year at JCCC, starting 31 of her 36 games played, Nelson averaged 8.7 ppg (314 points), 4.8 rpg (173 rebounds) and 4.5 apg (163 assists). She helped guide the Cavaliers to win the NJCAA DII national basketball championship.

By sophomore year, Nelson scored 16.6 points per game and led Johnson County to the NJCAA Division II National Championship to a runner-up finish.

During her time with JCCC, Nelson earned All-Conference and All-Region honors, was tabbed as a NJCAA Division II All-American and picked up WBCA First Team All-American accolades for her time with JCCC.

Nelson transferred to FGCU after her tenure with JCCC and was on fire. Starting 26 of her 31 games played, she averaged 9.2 ppg (286 points), 2.2 rpg (70 rebounds) and 2.4 apg (75 assists). She also added 20 steals and nine blocks to the mix and earned A-SUN Player of the Week too.

With her ability as a stronger passer, Nelson will make sure she's ready to go.


If you want a player who is strong as Ray Lewis, chance are it's China Dow.

The 5-8 guard from Louisville, Kentucky will make you wish you did not step up to her.

Prior to FGCU, Dow played her first two years at Middle Tennessee State University of Conference USA (C-USA).

In her freshman year at MTSU, Dow started 16 of the all 34 games she played averaging 4.1 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game.

By sophomore year, she was even more dominant. Dow started six of all 34 games she played in and averaged 16.4 points per game as a top reserve.

She then transferred to FGCU, but was ineligible to play due to the NCAA transfer rules, so she sat out the whole season.

By her redshirt junior year, Dow was eligible to play and came in with force. In 35 games, Dow averaged 8.7 ppg (303 points), 4.5 rpg (158 rebounds) and 2.3 apg (80 assists). She also added 11 blocks and 50 steals.

During the A-SUN Conference Tournament Championship, Dow lead the way offensively with a double-double (31 points and 10 rebounds), one block and three steals. As a result of the her big game, Dow was not only on the A-SUN Conference All-Tournament Team, but was also named the All-Tournament Team MVP.

With her power, Dow is no doubt a force no one should reckon with.


If you look for a player who has height like Whitney Knight, then you're looking at Rosemarie Julien.

The 5-11 junior guard from Port St. Lucie, Florida has an edge that can make anyone quiver.

Prior to FGCU, Julien played her first two years for Chipola College of the FCSAA/NJCAA DI Region 8 Panhandle Conference.

In her freshman year at Chipola, she started all 35 games and scored 11.9 points per game, had 4 rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game. Julien helped lead them to the NJCAA DI National Basketball Tournament for their first championship.

In her sophomore year, Julien repeated the process again. Although she scored 9.6 points per game, she had 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, she went to the NJCAA DI National Basketball Tournament yet again and won for the second straight time.

After her tenure with Chipola, Julien transferred to FGCU with her two remaining years of eligibility and came in clutch for her junior year. Julien averaged 11 ppg (386 points), 2.9 rpg (102 rebounds) and 1.3 apg (47 assists). Julien also had four blocks and 37 steals to the mix. Because of her hard work, Julien was named A-SUN Newcomer of the Year and a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team along with being named A-SUN Player of the Week and a three-time A-SUN Newcomer of the Week.

With her hard work, Julien will make her competition know she's ready.



The last senior and my personal favorite on the team is Talyor Grandijan.

The 5-9 guard and redshirt senior from Cudahy, Wisconsin has supposedly been at FGCU for "forever". Grandijan, although listed as a grad student academically, is listed as a rare sixth year senior.

In her freshman year, Gradinjan was off to a slow start. She played in five games with one start, scoring 24 points with 4.8 points per game, 11 rebounds, one assist and two steals. Gradinjan was unable to play the rest of the season due to a knee injury, however, she still managed to maintain her 4 years of eligibility.

In her first redshirt freshman year, Grandijan sat out the next whole season due to a ACL injury, but in her second redshirt freshman year she went on a rampage. Starting in 16 of the 33 games she played, Gradinjan averaged 6.1 ppg (202 points), 2.6 rpg (85 rebounds), 0.9 apg (28 assists) and 15 steals. As a result of her dynamic performance, she was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team. She also made history for FGCU. After the Eagles won the conference tournament against former A-SUN member Northern Kentucky, the team, who was the No. 7 seed played in the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and beat No. 10 Oklahoma State before falling to No. 2 Florida State. Gradinjan scored six points, one steal and one assist in the game against Oklahoma State and 12 points, four rebounds and two assists against FSU.

Her redshirt sophomore year is what really set the toll. Grandijan started all 39 of her games she played scoring 374 points with an average of  9.1 points a game, 161 rebounds, 31 assists, three blocks and 19 steals. Grandijan was named to the A-SUN All-Academic Team and started all three games in the A-SUN Conference Tournament and led the team to a runner-up finish in the finals against Jacksonville, but what really set her bar was in the WNIT Tournament. She scored 10 points against Bethune-Cookman, nine against Wake Forest, 10 against Tulane and six against Hofstra in the opening rounds. In the semifinals against Michigan, she had three points and three rebounds in the victory to the WNIT finals. Although they lost in the finals to South Dakota, Grandijan had 12 points, six rebounds and one assist in the games.

In her redshirt junior year, Grandijan started all 35 games with eight ppg (279 points), 3.4 rpg and 1.5 apg (52 assists). Because her hard work, Grandijan was once again named to the A-SUN All-Academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 Team.

With her experience as the rare sixth year senior, Grandijan will make her last year worthwhile.

No returning juniors are on the team, but FGCU managed to ink four transfers to join the team: Davion Wingate (G: Stony Brook), Keri Jewett-Giles (G: Southern Miss), Kerstie Phills (G: Wagner) and Lisa Zderadicka (G: Houston Baptist)


The first of four transfers is Davion Wingate.

The 5-6 guard from Atlanta, Georgia came to make her mark with her new team.

Prior to FGCU, Wingate played her first two years at Stony Brook University of the America East Conference (AEC).

In her freshman year at Stony Brook, Wingate started 14  of her 32 games played averaging 8.7 ppg. She was a two-time America East Rookie of the Week and the second leading scorer in the conference among all freshmen and as a result, she was named on the AEC All-Rookie team.

In her sophomore year, Wingate started 22 of her 30 games played and tied for the team lead in scoring at 11.8 points per game and recorded double-figures in scoring 19 times on the year, including four 20-point performances. During the season, Wingate was named to the Florida Sunshine Classic All-Tournament Team and earned America East Player of the Week honors for her efforts against the Rattlers and Hoosiers.

Wingate will be listed as a redshirt junior and have two years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.

For Wingate next season, she will make her presence known that she'll be ready.


Next coming to FGCU as a local is Keri Jewett-Giles.

The 5-6 guard from Ft. Myers is ready to come back to her home where she started.

Prior to FGCU, Jewett-Giles spent her first two seasons at Southern Miss of Conference USA (C-USA).

As a freshman at Southern Miss, Jewett-Giles knocked down 7.1 points per contest while shooting .453 from the floor - the second-best shooting percentage on the team and led the Golden Eagle's with a .391 shooting percentage from the arc.

In her sophomore year, Jewett-Giles finished top-three on the team in points per game (9.0), assists (100), steals (63) and three-points (22) where she notched 10 double-figure scoring performances and logged four or more steals on seven occasions.

Jewett-Giles will be listed as a redshirt junior next season and have two years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.

for Jewett-Giles, she will show what this local girl is all about.


Someone I see that can give a lot of energy happens to be Kerstie Phills.

The 5-9 guard from guard from Charlotte, North Carolina came with one goal: winning.

Prior to FGCU, Phills played her freshman year at Wagner College of the Northeast Conference (NEC). There she led the Seahawks with 13.1 ppg, including a mark of 16.9 in conference play, which ranked fourth among all NEC players.

In addition, Phills led the team and ranked eighth in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game, ranked second in the conference in NEC games with a .481 shooting percentage ranked second in the conference and ranked ninth with a .429 overall shooting percentage.

Phills ended the season on a 19-game double-figure scoring streak, reached double-figure scores in 22 of her last 23 games of the season and tallied five double-doubles on the year. As a result of her hard, Phills, in addition to being named NEC Rookie of the Week for a program record eight time, was named NEC Rookie of the Year and earned NEC All-Conference Second Team honors.

Phills will be listed as a redshirt sophomore next season and have three years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.

With her energy, Phills will show that she's ready


The last of the four transfers is Lisa Zderadicka (STARE-uh-dich-kuh).

The 5-6 guard from Vienna, Austria makes her mark with plenty of experience.

Prior to FGCU, Zderadicka started her basketball career in the states at Houston Baptist University of the Southland Conference.

In her freshman year, she was sidelined with a knee injury after three games into the season and utilized a medical redshirt.

As a redshirt freshman, Zderadicka started 15 of 29 games played where she scored 7.7 points per game and pulled down 2.4 rebounds. She ranked second on the team with 73 assists (2.5 per game) where tallied nine double-figures performances including five of the last eight games of the season.

In her redshirt sophomore year, Zderadicka started 14 of her 25 games played and led the Huskies squad with 11.0 ppg and topped the team in assists (71) and steals (29). She tallied 13 double-figure scoring performances, including a career-high 26 points going 10-of-20 from the floor vs. Abilene Christian and had four double-doubles on the season before graduating early.

In addition, prior to Houston Baptist and FGCU, Zderadicka has also played club ball for BC Vienna 87 and a six-time MVP of the league, 12-time Austrian champion, and an eight-time Vienna champion while leading her team to one second place finish and three third place finishes in the Austrian Women's National Basketball League. She also competed in four European Championships, playing U16 in the 2009 championship held in Estonia, U20 in 2010 held in Macedonia, and for both the U18 and U20 national teams who competed in Hungary and Macedonia, respectively, in 2011. Zderadicka also competed in the 3v3 U18 World Championship in Italy in 2011.

Zderadicka is listed as a graduate student and a redshirt junior, so as a result, she is immediately eligible to play and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

With her skills, Zderadicka will show the world that she is one of Austria's greatest players.

Next group to talk about is in the sophomore class: Chandler Ryan (G), Samantha Kisiel (F), Nasrin Ulel (F) and Tytionia Adderly (F).


The first of four sophomores is Chandler Ryan.

The 5-7 guard from Groveland, Illinois is listed as a redshirt freshman, but nonetheless is here to make her mark.

She did not play her freshman year due to injury, but you bet she'll make her mark stronger than ever.


Next up is Samantha Kisiel.

The 5-11 forward from Evergreen, Colorado started as a walk-on, but made the message clear she was ready.

In her freshman year, Kisiel played in nine games and averaged 0.6 ppg (5 points) and 0.2 rpg (2 rebounds). She also had one steal and one block to the mix.

Although Kisiel did not get into many games, you can be sure it will be different this season.


If you want a player that has a wild side, chances are you're looking at Nasrin Ulel.

The 5-9 forward from Murrieta, California makes the Tasmanian Devil quiver.

In her freshman year, Ulel appeared in 27 games and averaged 3.8 ppg (99 points), 1.4 rpg (36 rebounds) and 0.3 apg (seven assists). She also added a block and 10 steals to her mix.

For Ulel, she'll prove the world what she is made of.


The last sophomore who I dubbed as the "Rebound Queen" is Tytionia Adderly.

The 5-10 forward from Jupiter, Florida is known for her strength to get the ball offensively and defensively and every time she gets so many rebounds, I say to her after the games "What's with all those rebounds?"

In her freshman year, Adderly started 24 of her 33 games played. She averaged 4.8 ppg (159 points) including a game high 22 points against Northern Colorado, 7.7 rpg (255 rebounds) including a game high 16 rebounds and 1.3 apg (46 assists). Adderly also added six blocks and 43 steals. She did so well that she was named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team and the A-SUN All-Tournament Team during the conference tournament.

With her strong rebounding, Adderly will make sure to defend her reign as the Rebounding Queen.

Now that the upper classmen are talked about, how about those freshman. FGCU managed to ink three freshman: Alyssa Blair (G), Sheahen Dowling (G) and Liberty Brown (G/F)


The first of three freshman is Alyssa Blair.

The 5-11 guard from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin came with a purpose.

Prior to FGCU, Blair played for Sun Prairie High School under head coach John Olson. There, Blair was a four-year letterwinner. As a senior, Blair recorded 11.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg while shooting .400 from beyond the arc as a senior and received All-Conference and All-Area honors while helping her team to a conference championship for the first time in 21 years.

With her new role at FGCU, Blair will show that she's ready to roll.


Next is a fellow native I can relate to and that's Sheahen Dowling.

The 5-7 guard from Chicago, Illinois wants to make the magic happen for Raining 3s.

Prior to FGCU, Dowling played for Trinity High School under head coach MikeValente. There she served as team captain her junior and senior seasons and helped her team finish third in the state of Illinois for the 4A division. Dowling averaged nine ppg, three apg, two steals per game, as well as .470 from beyond the arc and  .520 from the field over her high school career. She was also a two-time Sectional Champion, a three-time Regional Champion and a three-time Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Champion.

For Dowling, she will show that this Chicago knows her way around.


The last freshman on the team is Liberty Brown.

The 6-0 guard/forward from Forney, Texas comes with a passion to play.

Prior to FGCU, Brown played for Lancaster High School under Jessica Linson. There, Brown was a two-year letterwinner where, as a junior, lead the district in field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and blocked shots. As a senior, Brown helped her team to a district championship. She was ranked the 69th best wing player in the nation according to ESPNW.

With her experience nationally, Brown will show she's ready for the big leagues.

I've seen what the women's basketball team at FGCU is all about since my junior year and I have seen some of the best players make their marks to make it big, and no matter what happens, they always make it to the top.

PC: fgcuathletics.com

FGCU VB: Conference Tournament Champions Are...

The postseason has come to an end FGCU as they dropped the championship game to Kennesaw 0-3 (23-25, 22-25, 17-25). Both the Eagles (22-10) and the Owls (21-4) were trying to make their first national tournament appearance in both program's history. Both teams put up a good fight, but the Owls were the better team and I wish them best of luck in the tournament.

"I was really pleased with the way we came out and opened up the match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought the first set was really competitive and we were seeing some things we thought we could utilize and put us in position to win offensively."

"This is a feeling that as a coach you imagine, but until you get here it's hard to describe all the different emotions that are running through my mind. From the incredible amount of hard work that our players and staff have put into this thing, to all of the support staff that has sacrificed so much time to make our program better. I think about all of the alumni that were here tonight because they are big part of this too and the many alums who worked so hard to get this program to this moment," said Kennesaw head coach Keith Schunzel.

The A-SUN All-Tournament Team was announced shortly after the match.

Representing Kennesaw on the All-Tournament team were senior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Anaiah Boyer (12 kills, one assist, four blocks and 13 digs), Senior setter and A-SUN Setter of the Year, A-SUN First Team All-Conference member, A-SUN All-Academic Team member and A-SUN Co-Scholar of the Year, Kristi Piedimonte (42 assists, five kills, one block and 11 digs), junior middle blocker and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Liesl Engelbrecht (six kills, four blocks and one dig) and Senior libero Katarina Morton (21 digs, four assists and one ace). Boyner was also named All-Tournament Team MVP.

Representing FGCU were junior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member, A-SUN All-Academic Team member, A-SUN Co-Player of the Year, A-SUN Co-Scholar of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-District recipient Amanda Carroll (15 kills and 15 digs) and A-SUN Freshman of the Year and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Snowy Burnam (eight kills, one assist, five blocks and eight digs).

Junior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member and A-SUN Co-Player of the Year Carlyle Nusbaum of Lipscomb was also named on the All-Tournament Team, but I'm not sure if she was in attendance even if the tournament was hosted by Lipscomb.

With the win, Kennesaw not only won the conference tournament, but they have also earned an automatic bid for the national tournament and will represent the A-SUN.

FGCU, despite being runner-up for the second straight time, are strongly eligible to earn a possible chance to be in the return of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) after 22 years, as announced at the AVCA Convention. The NIVC is the volleyball version of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

History Lesson of NIVC:
The NIVC started in 1989 as a 20-team event and ended in 1995. The inaugural champion was the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers were also the last champions in the tournament before shutting down and being defunct.

The list of champions are listed:
1989 – Wisconsin
1990 – Houston
1991 – Kentucky
1992 – Washington State
1993 – Louisiana State
1994 – Cal-State Northridge
1995 – Wisconsin

The NIVC is simply like this:

1. 64 DI teams from all 32 conferences that did not get berths in the NCAA Tournament will be in line for their opportunity for the postseason.

2. Teams offered an automatic berth shall be the team that is the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and not selected for the NCAA Tournament in which their overall record is not a criteria. There will, however, be a list of tiebreakers and other criteria involved.

3. The NIVC will give 32 at-large berths to the top teams available. Any team from a Division I conference, or a Division I independent team, will be considered.

NIVC Setup:
1. It is a single-elimination tournament that will feature 32 first-round matches, followed by 16 second-round matches, eight third-round matches, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal matches, and the championship. It's similar to the MNIT and WNIT in college basketball.

2. The 64-team field will be announced late Sunday, November 26, 2017. The first round will start Tuesday, November 28, with the event ending Tuesday, December 12.

FGCU is more than likely a strong candidate to be in the NIVC, so anything can happen.

FGCU VB: Tournament Update 2

With the tournament in tact, two teams remain in the tournament and will go toe-to-toe in championship: No. 1 Kennesaw State and No. 3 FGCU. The Owls (20-4) managed to defeat and eliminate host and defending champions Lipscomb (16-13) 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23) and enter into their second conference championship match in program history (first: 2015).

Senior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Anaiah Boyer had a double-double of 16 kills and 20 digs. The Lithia Springs native also added four blocks and one assist for the match.

Senior A-SUN Setter of the Year, A-SUN First Team All-Conference member, A-SUN All-Academic Team member and A-SUN Co-Scholar of the Year, Kristi Piedimonte, had 37 assists, three kills, two aces, seven blocks and eight digs.

Senior libero Katarina Morton had three assists and 12 digs.

The Owls had a total of 42 total blocks. The duo of junior middle blocker and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member, Liesl Engelbrecht, and senior middle blocker Rachel Taylor had 10 blocks assists each. Engelbrect added seven kills, one solo block and five digs while Taylor added three kills, one assist and two digs.

A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Lauren Chastang added eight kills, five blocks and one dig while junior outside hitter and A-SUN Second Team All-Conference member Sydni Shelton added seven kills, five blocks and one dig of her own.

For Lipscomb, despite it being the end of their season, junior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member and A-SUN Co-Player of the Year Carlyle Nusbaum had a double-double of 26 kills and 11 digs. The Overland Park native also added an ace and four blocks to the mix.

Sophomore setter and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Morgan Elmore had 54 assists, one block and six digs.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Anderson had seven kills, two aces, one block and 21 digs.

Senior libero and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Brittany Thomas added four assists and 21 digs.

Junior middle blocker Ca'Layci Coffey had six kills and six blocks and sophomore middle blocker Maddie Phillips had nine kills and two digs.

"I was extremely proud of our girls tonight, said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal. "All year long we've challenged our girls to give it everything they had and tonight we saw that. This was a great match, definitely a championship-caliber match, and our girls rose to the occasion."

"That was a championship level match against a program with a lot of tradition. I'm really proud how we stayed composed and pulled out a tight fourth set. Obviously, we have another huge one tomorrow," said Kennesaw head coach Keith Schunzel.

After splitting the series 1-1 during the season, the Eagles (22-9) had no problem taming the Dolphins (18-10) in the grudge match as they implied a 3-0 shutout (25-20, 26-24, 25-21) to advance to the championship for the third time and the second straight year in their program's history (2009, 2016).

"I think it looked a little bit like yesterday where there was a gradual improvement from set to set," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "A lot of positive things. Snowy was fantastic and Amanda did a great job coming through attacking wise. I think our blocking and our serving dictated a lot of the match. That's a good foundation to build on, but we're going to have to be super aggressive tomorrow to be in a position to get an automatic bid to the tournament."

"I'm sad to see the season end. I am heartbroken for the team in how we ended, but I am so proud of the season we had," stated JU Head Coach Julie Darty. "We accomplished so much this season, and I think there are a lot of things we can build off of. We are still so young in a lot of positions, so I think this was about growing up. We grew up tonight."

After a tough matchup in the quarterfinals by getting only one kill, junior outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference and A-SUN All-Academic Team member, A-SUN Co-Player and Co-Scholar of the Year, and CoSIDA Academic All-District recipient, Amanda Carroll, bounced back offensively with a double-double of 18 kills and 17 digs. The Albuquerque native also added one assist, one ace and three blocks.

A-SUN Freshman of the Year and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Snowy Burnam also produced a double-double of 13 kills and 11 digs. The Palm City native also added seven blocks for the game.

Junior setter, A-SUN Second Team All-Conference member and A-SUN All-Academic Team member, Maggie Rick, had 34 assists along with two kills, two aces, two blocks and eight digs.

Senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens had 12 digs, two aces and two assists while junior libero Karissa Rhoades had 10, four assists and two aces.

Sophomore middle blocker and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Dani Serrano had only one kill, but managed to get six blocks and one dig.

Other players that contributed to the match were junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo, freshman defensive specialist Alayna Ryan, sophomore outside hitter Giovanna Borgiotti and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Cortney VanLiew.

Krivdo had four kills, six blocks and three digs, Ryan added one assist and two blocks, Borgiotti had three kills and two digs and VanLiew had five kills, one assist and two digs.

For Jacksonville, sophomore middle blocker and A-SUN Second Team All-Conference member Amarrah Cooks led the team with 13 kills and added four blocks.

"Amarrah was unreal tonight; I have never seen her play with so much fire. Alleah was trying to get her as many balls as possible because she was unstoppable," credited Darty

Sophomore setter and A-SUN Second Team All-Conference member Alleah Stamatis had 36 assists along with two kills, four blocks and six digs.

Senior libero, A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Mackenzie Swan had 22 digs.

Senior middle blocker and A-SUN Second Team All-Conference member Olga Nushtayeva had six kills, one ace, three blocks and two digs.

Sophomore outside hitter and A-SUN First Team All-Conference member Mallory Mattingly was one kill shy of a double-double and finished with nine kills, one assist, one block and 16 digs.

Other players that contributed for the Dolphins' last match included senior outside hitter Cristina Finan (five kills, one assist, one ace, one block and 10 digs), senior middle blocker Jessica Armstrong (six kills and two blocks) and outside hitter and A-SUN All-Freshman Team Kendall Murr (11 digs).

"These girls will remember this feeling; we will learn from this," added Darty. "I'm still so proud of this group – no gym and a lot of setbacks, but also a huge amount of success. We will be better for it."

With Lipscomb out, a new champion will be named on Saturday November 18. Not only will the winning team win the tournament, but they will also earn an automatic bid in the national tournament and represent the A-SUN Conference.

FGCU Volleyball: Award Winners and Conference Tournament Opener

After another successful season, the FGCU Volleyball is now focusing on their next task at hand: The A-SUN Conference Tournament. The Eagles enter into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, and face No. 6 seeded USC Upstate in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Before the matchup, the A-SUN Conference announced the winners of awards and members of honorable mentions.

Junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll was named A-SUN Co-Player of the Year with Lipscomb's Carlyle Nusbaum while freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam was named A-SUN Freshman of the Year.

On the A-SUN All-Conference First Team, Carroll and sophomore middle blocker Daniele Serrano were selected to the team. Carroll was a unanimous selection.

Junior setter Maggie Rick was named a member of the A-SUN All-Conference Second team.

Burnam, along with fellow freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew, were named members of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.

In addition, Carroll and Rick were named members of the A-SUN All-Academic Team. Carroll was also named A-SUN Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year with Kennesaw's Kristi Piedimonte and a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District recipient.

The history between FGCU and Upstate remains with the Eagles having the upper hand in the series between the two teams: FGCU is 19-0 against Upstate including the two wins in the season prior to the quarterfinals

Fast forward to the quarterfinals, No. 4 seed Lipscomb played earlier against No. 5 seed UNF and won with a 3-0 shutout. With their win, the Lady Bison will face the No. 1 seed Kennesaw State.

“You first have to give credit to our girls as far as understanding what was laid in front of them and then going out and getting after it,” Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. “I couldn’t be more proud from top to bottom. Our defense was just absolutely tremendous tonight. We created a lot of havoc and the attention to detail and the discipline was superb."

"I thought Lipscomb played really well and put a lot of pressure on our passers. We weren't able to find any offensive rhythm. Even though things didn't go our way, we continued to battle. I am proud of the seniors and their contributions to our Osprey family," said UNF head coach Steve Loeswick.

After the match, FGCU (22-8, 10-4 A-SUN) defeated Upstate (8-21, 4-10 ASUN) 3-0. This was the seventh time the Eagles have made it to the semifinals.

"I don't think the first set was as clean as we would have liked," head coach Matt Botsford said.  "We had a different line up limiting Amanda to manage the amount of the time she was jumping and it took some time for that to gel, but I think we really took off heading into the second set. We continued to improve throughout, but I liked it, and I liked the way our girls picked it up. I thought Gio was terrific tonight. She blocked great, attacked well and had a real calming influence in out of system scenarios."

It was freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam who took the reins offensively. The Palm City native that was named A-SUN Freshman of the Year was one dig shy of a double-double, but finished with 12 kills, nine digs, two assists, three blocks and an ace.

Sophomore outside hitter Giovanna Borgiotti had 11 kills, three blocks and two digs.

Junior setter Maggie Rick had a double-double of 35 assists and 13 digs. The Alpharetta, Georgia native who was named a A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member also added four kills to the mix.

Serrano had eight kills, one dig and one block.

Junior libero Karissa Rhoades had 19 digs, six assists and an ace.

Offensively, Carroll did not have her best game as she only had one kill, but defensively, the Albuquerque native had 20 digs, one block and two aces.

Lone senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens had six digs, one assist and two aces.

Junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo had four kills and six blocks.

Other players that contributed to the match included freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew and freshman defensive specialist Alayna Ryan. VanLiew had five kills and one block while Ryan added one dig to the mix.

With the win, FGCU is now 20-0 overall against Upstate and will face No. 2 seed JU in the semifinals. The winner of that match will face the winner between No. 1 seed Kennesaw and No. 4 seed, host and defending champion Lipscomb.

FGCU Men's Basketball: Opening Season Home Game Recap

The season opener finally arrived as the FGCU men's basketball team opened with a game at home against Illinois State. For me, personally, it was a matter of home ground because I'm from Illinois, so you can say I would be in a fix, but honestly, it didn't really matter.

Normally, basketball games at FGCU don't start until around 7 pm, but because volleyball has a game at 7 pm, the game was pushed to 1 pm, but that didn't stop the day.

In the beginning, the lineup threw me off-guard. FGCU's starting lineup was as listed: redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin, redshirt junior Zach Johnson, senior Christian Terrell, sophomore Christian Carlyle and redshirt junior Ricky Doyle.

Honestly, this was a tough game for the season opener because the men were playing the #1 team in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) but in the end, The Eagles managed to clip the Redbirds 98-87.

"When you play a team this early in the year that's as skilled as Illinois State, you're going to put yourself in harm's way defensively," said FGCU head coach Joe Dooley of giving up 87 points. "There will definitely be some teachable moments when we look back at the tape. But there's certainly some good things that we can take from this. We had really good performances up and down the lineup, and almost everyone contributed – especially at the offensive end."

Goodwin had 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He was 9-for-12 at the free throw line.

Johnson led with a team-high 27 points with four rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block. Johnson was 8-for-9 at the free throw line.

Terrell finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist, two blocks and a steal.

Carlyle, who was a wildcard for starting the game, scored 11 points with nine rebounds, one assist, two blocks and was 7-for-10 at the free throw line.

Doyle, who sat out last season as part of the NCAA transfer rule after transferring from Michigan, made his official debut and despite fouling out and playing only nine minutes, he scored eight points and had one rebound.

Players that contributed off the bench included redshirt senior Antravious Simmons, redshirt sophomore Brady Ernst and redshirt junior Dinero Mercurius. Ernst and Mercurius were making their season debut.

Simmons had five points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Ernst, a double transfer from Iowa State and Indian Hills Community College, had two points and three rebounds.

Mercurius, a triple transfer from USF, Texas-Rio Grande Valley and NJCAA Daytona State College, scored 11 points, including two back-to-back three pointers, two rebounds and one assist.

In front of 4,335 basketball fans, students and Dirty Birds, the game was really intense, but a lot of energy was intact.

The Eagles will be on the road for their second game as they face Siena College on November 13.

FGCU VB Lipscomb Recap: Senior Moment

So enlighten of the regular season for the FGCU volleyball team coming to a close, the Eagles took the time to recognize their lone senior on the team: libero Courtney Stephens. The Winter Park native has played under head coach Matt Botsford since his inaugural season in 2014 and throughout her whole career has made such an impact for the team. In all four season, Stephens was one of five Eagles to reach 1,000 or more career digs and remains in the top five in career digs while also having 87 career service aces. With her mother, Chrissy, accompanying her and meet in the middle with Botsford, athletic director Ken Kavanagh and assistant coaches Kim Maroon and Daniel Mahy, the lone senior was recognized for her hard work.

"I'm pretty proud of myself," Stephens said. "The circumstances I came into this program under with a new coach and everything. I felt like I adjusted really well. I'm proud of myself. The coaches always pushed me. It's super weird. I've played this sport for 14 years. I'm feeling a little sad finally. The grind always kind of gets to you, but I'm going to miss it."

Shockingly, Lipscomb, who are the defending A-SUN Conference Tournament champions, are currently the No. 4 seed in the conference and although it was senior night for Stephens, three of Lipscomb's players that were seniors were also recognized: defensive specialist Jenny Phelan, libero Brittany Thomas and right side hitter Chloe Rogers.

Fast forward to the match against Lipscomb. Now overall in the series against the Lady Bison, FGCU is 6-16 against Lipscomb. Earlier in the season, FGCU beat Lipscomb 3-1 at Lipscomb and hoping to sweep this season's series against the Lady Bison for the first time since 2012.

For the starting lineup for FGCU, it was junior Karissa Rhoades (libero), sophomore Daniele Serrano (middle blocker), junior Maggie Rick (setter), junior Kaiti Krivdo (right side hitter), freshman Snowy Burnam (outside hitter) Stephens (defensive specialist) and junior Amanda Carroll (outside hitter).

In the end, FGCU shutout Lipscomb 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22). With the win, as well as the previous win at Lipscomb, the Eagles swept the series over the Lady Bison for the first time since 2012 and are now 7-17 overall against Lipscomb.

Carroll led the charge offensively. The Albuquerque native had 14 kills, three blocks (two solo blocks, one block assist), eight digs and four aces.

Serrano had six kills, four block assists and one dig.

Rick, after having a season high 60 assists against Upstate, had 32 along with two aces, four block assists and one dig.

Krivdo, despite having only two kills, had seven blocks and one dig while Burnam had six kills five block assists and eight digs. Burnam snapped her streak of getting 10 or more kills after five matches.

Rhoades had one assist and 16 digs.

Stephens finished with nine digs and one assist for her senior night.

Off the bench, freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew had eight kills and one dig while freshman defensive specialist Alayna Ryan had one assist, one dig and one ace.

"The best stretches throughout season have been fueled by our defense, both at the net and behind it," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "And if you look at the stats and the way the game was unfolding, both teams were defending extremely well. It was hard to come by kills. So it was imperative that we keep up with what they were doing on the defensive end and we did exactly that. I was so impressed from the defensive perspective. It started with effort and we saw it this week in practice. We made it a point of emphasis, and I love the way they came out and executed."

For Lipscomb, junior outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum had a team-leading 17 kills, two blocks and seven digs.

Thomas had one assist and 16 digs.

Sophomore setter Morgan Elmore had one kill, one block assist, six digs and 37 assists.

“I thought we competed in stretches tonight, but unfortunately there were also some times where we were unable to make a play here or there that cost us sets,” Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal said.

“It wasn’t a bad match, but it certainly wasn’t a good one. I would have liked to see us carry over that momentum from last weekend.”

All in all, Courtney Stephens' night was one thrill of a lifetime for her. Below is a picture with me and her with a poster I made for her senior night:

FGCU WBB vs. Illinois Recap: Season Home Opener

The FGCU women's basketball team (1-0) exacted their rematch from last season as they defeated Illinois (1-1) 85-61 to open their season at home. Last season, the Eagles went to Illinois where they fell 82-73, so this was a rematch between the two teams. In addition, Illinois is a Power 5 Conference university from the Big Ten Conference.

Of course, personally for me, Illinois was my childhood university that I always wanted to go way before I moved to Florida, and despite the outcome in the end, Illinois will always be in my heart.

Going into the first quarter, redshirt senior Taylor Grandijan would start the scoring brigade for the Eagles with a quick 3-pointer with an assist from sophomore Tytionia Adderly. After senior Erica Nelson shot two free throws after being fouled by junior Jaelyne Kirkpatrick, the Illini would get on the board after a Kirkpatrick layup. Nelson would add two more point off of a layup with an assist from Grandijan.

After senior Rose Julien drew a foul, Smesko sent redshirt senior China Dow and redshirt junior Lisa Zderadicka to the court while Julien and sophomore Nasrin Ulel headed to the bench. Zderadicka was making her FGCU debut after graduating early from Houston Baptist University and transferring with two years of eligibility. Zderadicka, despite coming from another D1 school, was automatically eligible to play because she is a grad student for FGCU. In addition, Zderadicka is the first two-year graduate transfer in the program’s history.

With 7:27 left on the clock in the first quarter, Zderadicka would score her first basket with FGCU on a layup. Two minutes later, after redshirt senior Jessica Cattani checked in, the Illini would get their second basket off a jump shot from junior Alex Wittinger, but another layup from Zderadicka made the score 11-4 FGCU with 4:47 left on the clock.

With 4:06 on the clock, the Illini would get a 3-pointer off the hands of sophomore Petra Holešínská followed by a jump shot from fellow sophomore Brandi Beasley before Holešínská gave the Illini the lead with 2:23 left, but Grandijan, with a hot hand, helped the Eagles with another 3-pointer to give back the lead for the Eagles. Ulel would add one more 3-pointer with one minute left one the game clock before redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice made one more free throw before the first quarter ended with the Eagles on top 17-13.

Going into the second quarter, freshman Alyssa Blair made her on-court debut as she subbed in for Julien. With less than nine minutes left on the clock, Holešínská would cut the Eagles lead to two after hitting a successful jump shot, but a 3-point shot from Ulel, with an assist from Zderdicka, gave the Eagles a five point lead before senior Alli Ball cut the Eagles lead to three. Grandijan would then bring the Eagles lead back to five points with a layup with an assist from Nelson. With 7:05 left on the clock, Dow would bring the Eagles lead to 12 with a layup before a media timeout.

With 5:13 left, Wittinger would cut the Eagles lead to 10 with a good jumper, but a defensive rebound lead Adderly to go coast-to-coast with a layup before Wittinger hit another good jumper, but Adderly would extend the Eagles lead to 13 with a 3-pointer from an assist from Cattani. After another Wittinger jumper at the 2:50 mark, Julien would shoot a 3-pointer of her own with an assist from Zderadicka before Ulel hit a 3-pointer with an assist from Grandijan.

The Illini would get another good jumper off the hands of sophomore Ali Andrews, but a late foul from Holešínská to Dow gave the Louisville transfer a successful attempt of shooting two free throws before the end of the first half. The Eagles would take the first half 42-25.

Going into the start of the third quarter, Ulel would score the first bucket with a layup. Two minutes later, Wittinger would hit another good jumper before Julien pulled another 3-pointer with an assist from Ulel. Wittinger would shoot another jump shot before Julien was fouled by redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead. After making one of two free throws, Julien would then steal the ball from Holešínská, who missed a layup and grabbed an offensive rebound before Grandijan missed a 3-point shot, signaling a defensive rebound by Wittinger leading to a Beasley layup.

Grandijan would increase the Eagles lead to 20 after hitting a 3-pointer with an assist from Zderadicka, and after another Wittinger jumper, Julien would hit a 3-pointer of her own with an assist from Nelson. Wittinger would then 3-pointer of her own Holešínská with five minutes left before hitting a layup while being fouled by Zderadicka and completing the and-one. After Adderly missed a layup and Beasley grabbed the defensive rebound, Kirkpatrick would hit a 3-pointer with an assist from Holešínská, but Ulel would return the favor as she completed an and-one of her own.

With less than three minutes on the clock, Dow would get fouled by Beasley and make one out of two free throws. Julien would then get fouled by Wittinger. After making one of two free throws, Dow would collect an offensive rebound and hit a layup.

With 1:19 left on the clock, Julien, after grabbing the offensive rebound, was sent to the line after an Andrews shooting foul and was able to shoot two successful rebounds. 39 seconds left, Dow would hit a layup with an assist from Zderadicka. With five seconds left, Cattani would miss an open 3-pointer, but with an offensive rebound from Grandijan, Cattani recovered with an open layup before the third quarter ended. It would be 67-42 FGCU.

One quarter remained in the game. After Nelson fouled Cattenhead, sending her to the line where she made one of two free throws before hitting a good jumper. Nelson would return the favor and get an and-one after being fouled by Kirkpatrick. Grandijan would follow with her fourth 3-pointer of the game.

Nelson would grab the defensive rebound off of a Cattenhead missed layup before Dow hit a layup until the Illini called for a 20 second time out. This would send Blair and redshirt freshman Chandler Ryan to sub into the game. Ryan was also making her season debut after sitting the entire last season with a knee injury.

After back-to-back threes from Andrews and Beasley, Nelson would follow with a layup to the paint before Ulel and Zderadicka reentered the game.

With 4:32 left on the clock, Zderadicka would get fouled and was sent to the line where she made one of two free throws. Beasley was soon fouled by Adderly and made one of two free throws before Blair picked up the defensive rebound.

After a missed 3-pointer, Rice would drive in a layup with an assist from Andrews, but a 3-pointer from Ryan, which lead to an and-one, increased the Eagles lead to to 28 before another Rice layup and an and-one dropped it to 25. From there, Smesko would empty the bench and send freshmen Sheahen Dowling and Liberty Brown onto the court. Dowling and Brown would make their on-court debuts as well. Ryan would add two more free throws before Blair reentered for Dow.

After a jumper made by Lyric Robins, freshman Jnaya Walker would be sent to the free throw line where she made one of two free throw shots before Brown secured the defensive rebound before being fouled and sent to the line where she made one of two free throws. Walker would make the final free throw as it signaled the end of the games with the Eagles on top.

"This is definitely a good win for us," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Illinois has a lot of good players and a lot of them are returning from last year. They're really well-coached. The defensive intensity we had early kind of set the tone for us. We had a lot of players play well. I'm happy to win. (Illinois) is a team that beat us last year with the same players."

The Eagles shot 13-for-32 (45.9%) from the 3-point line and 16-for-21 (76.2 %) at the free throw line.

Offensively, Ulel lead the team with a career-high 17 points (6-for-7 FG, 4-for-5 3FG, 1-for-1 FT), two rebounds and two assists.

Grandijan had 14 points (5-for-11 FG, 4-for-10 3FG), two rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Julien finished with 13 points (3-for-4 FG, 3-for-3 3FG, 4-6 FT), two rebounds and one steal.

Nelson finished with nine points (3-for-7 FG, 3-for-3 FT), five rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals.

Adderly finished with seven points (3-for-7 FG, 1-for-3 3FG), nine rebounds, one assist and three steals.

Off the bench, Dow finished with 11 points (4-for-10 FG, 3-for-4 FT), four rebounds and one assist, Ryan finished with six points (1-for-2 3FG, 3-for-3 FT) in four minutes, Zderadicka finished with five points and five assists, Cattani, who was supposed to be a starter originally before being sidelined with a foot injury, finished with two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal, Brown had one point, and one rebound, and Blair contributed with two rebounds.

Sophomore Samantha Kisiel was unable to play due to an injury, but was able to celebrate the win on her birthday.

Transfer students, Kerstie Phills, Davion Wingate and Keri Jewett-Giles are ineligible as part of the NCAA transfer rule.

For the Illini, Wittinger lead the way with 20 points (9-for-13 FG, 1-for-1 3FG, 1-for-1 FT), nine rebounds, one block and one steal. Wittinger was the only Illini with double digit points.

Beasley and Holešínská finished with eight points and a steal each. Beasley added seven rebounds and four assists while Holešínská added four rebounds and two assists.

Andrews and Kirkpatrick finished with five points and three rebounds each. Andrews added an assist while Kirkpatrick added two assists and one steal.

Cattenhead had three points, five rebounds and a steal.

Rice finished with six points, one rebound and one assist.

Ball, Walker and Robins had two points each. Walker added two rebounds to the mix.

Sophomore Courtney Joens and redshirt sophomore Cydnee Kinslow also contributed to the game. Joens had one rebound while Kinslow had one steal.

"I think they {FGCU} came out and they established their defense right from the beginning," Illinois head coach Nancy Fahey said. "They were more physical, they tied us up offensively in that first half. We adjusted as the game went on, but that's something we have to react better to."

"I talked to the team after the game and we're just trying to get in fighting mentality. I think one thing they're looking at is how hard this team that we played tonight fought. There are a lot of one-day preps here so this young team is going to have to grow up fast, and they will."

Up Next:
FGCU will face FIU in Miami as part of their nine-game road trip. They will compete against Kent State and host Akron in the Akron Classic, face Siena College at Siena, competed in the Play4Kay Shootout in Las Vegas against numerous teams and like Depaul, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 14 Stanford, Memphis, Gonzaga and Belmont before wrapping up the road trip with a game against Abilene Christian.

Below are several pictures of me with some of the players after the game:

With Dow

With Wingate

With Grandijan

With Adderly

With Cattani

With Brown, who happened to be my neighbor

With Kisiel

With Zderadicka

With Dowling since we're Chicago natives and Cub fans

With Ryan

FGCU W. Soccer: Conference Championship and National Tournament Update

Before I get to the A-SUN Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, there were teams that have punched their ticket to the national tournament automatically. All 30 teams in their respective conferences have secured a spot for the national tournament:

1. IUPUI will represent the Horizon League after defeating the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 4-3 in penalty kicks.

2. Monmouth University will represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) after defeating Manhattan College 5-1.

3. San Diego State will represent the Mountain West Conference (MWC) after defeating New Mexico 3-0.

4. Denver will represent the Summit League after defeating North Dakota State 2-1.

5. Stony Brook will represent the America East Conference (AEC) after defeating Vermont 2-1.

6. USF will represent the American Athletic Conference (AAC) after defeating #8 UCF 5-3 in penalty kicks.

7. La Salle University will represent the Atlantic 10 (A10) after defeating VCU 1-0 in double overtime.

8. Baylor defeated TCU 2-1 in overtime to represent the Big 12.

9. #4 UNC defeated #2 Duke 1-0 to represent the ACC.

10. In the Big Sky, Eastern Washington defeated Northern Colorado 3-0 to secure their spot.

11. High Point University defeated Longwood 1-0 to represent the Big South.

12. #15 Penn State defeated Northwestern 2-1 to secure their spot and represent the Big Ten.

13. Cal State Fullerton defeated Cal State Northridge 1-1 (4-3 in penalty kicks) to represent the Big West.

14. Hofstra defeated Northeastern 2-1 to represent the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

15. North Texas defeated Charlotte 2-1 in penalty kicks to represent Conference USA (C-USA).

16. Toledo defeated Bowling Green 2-1 in overtime to represent the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

17. Representing the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), Missouri State defeated Northern Iowa 1-0.

18. Saint Francis will represent the Northeast Conference (NEC) after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 in penalty kicks.

19. Murray State will represent the Ohio Valley Conference after beating Eastern Kentucky 1-0 in overtime.

20. Representing the Patriot League will be Bucknell after defeating Navy 3-2.

21. Representing the SEC will be #11 Texas A&M after they defeated Arkansas 2-1.

22. Representing the Southern Conference will be UNC Greensboro after defeating Western Carolina 1-0.

23. Lamar University will be representing the Southland Conference after defeating Stephen F. Austin 2-0.

24. Representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will be Alabama State after defeating Grambling State 4-2 in penalty kicks.

25. Representing the Sun Belt will be South Alabama after defeating Coastal Carolina 5-0.

26. Representing the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) will be Utah Valley after they defeated Seattle 1-1 (3-1 in penalty kicks)

#13 Princeton will represent the Ivy League, #1 Stanford will represent the Pac-12 and #12 Pepperdine Univeristy will represent the West Coast Conference (WCC). All three teams do not have a conference tournament, for they automatically qualify for the national tournament based on winning their season championship.

FGCU will be facing Lipscomb for the third straight time in the A-SUN Championship. Now the last two times both teams faced each other, FGCU came out on top and punched their ticket to the national tournament. During the 2015-16 year, FGCU won 5-0 at FGCU. One year later, FGCU won 2-0 at FGCU once again.

Goal-wise, the players for both teams to keep sharp eyes out for are sophomore forward and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Marjorie Boilesen of FGCU and redshirt senior forward and A-SUN Player of the Year, A-SUN First Team All-Conference and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Ellen Lundy. Both Boilesen and Lundy lead their teams in goals (Boilesen (10), Lundy (7)).

In the semifinal games, FGCU beat JU 2-0 to make it to the finals while Lipscomb beat Kennesaw 1-0 to do the same. The winner goes on to the national tournament as an automatic bid to represent the A-SUN Conference.

Let's fast forward to the second half at the 60 minute mark of the championship game. FGCU (14-3-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN) was down 2-0 in the first half after goals from sophomore Hannah Torbertt and Lundy. 

It looked like their journey to the national tournament was slipping from their fingers, but then a miracle happened. Junior midfielder and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Holly Fritz tapped in the first goal for FGCU and her fifth of the season, but it didn't stop there. Nearing the edge of the game ending, junior defender and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member, Camille Knudstrup, tied the game with her fourth goal of the season. The miracle was still in FGCU's grasp.

After the second half ended, the game went into a first overtime, but no one won yet and it would go into double overtime. Heading into the 105th minute of double overtime, the miracle FGCU was hoping for did indeed happened. Senior A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member, Varin Ness, scored the game-winning goal and secured FGCU's spot in the national tournament and defeated Lipscomb (8-7-3, 5-1-1 A-SUN).

"It wasn't easy but sometimes that makes it feel even better," said head coach Jim Blankenship following his program's 13th A-SUN Tournament match victory. "I'm proud of our guys. It wasn't the start we wanted but we talked a lot about trust at halftime and staying within the system. I challenged them by saying this was the first team to have to go on the road, so let's be the first to come back. Our character and mentality were phenomenal tonight."

After the championship game, the A-SUN All-Tournament Team was announced:
Representing Lipscomb was Lundy, senior midfielder and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member, Jade Abarca and redshirt senior and A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Niamh Rawlins.

For FGCU, it was redshirt seniors, A-SUN Defender of the Year, A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Ashley Parks and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Nikki Hudson, Fritz and Ness. Ness was also named A-SUN All-Tournament Team MVP.

Senior forward and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Sope Akindoju and junior Brittany Hundley represented Jacksonville, while senior A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Abby Roth and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Tiffany Sornpao of Kennesaw were also recognized on the A-SUN All-Tournament Team. Akindoju, Hundley, Roth and Sornpao were not in attendance due to being eliminated from the tournament.

According to the FGCU athletics page, there will be a selection show on November 6 at the Alico Arena where the public are invited to attend. The selection show will determine who FGCU will play, and determine the other teams that automatically qualified and at-large bid teams for the tournament based on their RPI ranking.

It's probably no doubt that some top 10 teams in the top 25 like #2 Duke and #3 South Carolina will be in the tournament because of their high RPI rankings. In fact, Duke despite the loss to UNC, will be in the national tournament as an at-large bid. Nonetheless, FGCU has secured their spot and will be in the national tournament.

FGCU Volleyball vs NJIT Recap

After a rough two game road trip losing to UNF and JU, the FGCU volleyball team (18-8, 8-3 A-SUN) managed to bounce back and recover by shutting out NJIT (11-17, 1-10 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-21). The Eagles still maintain being in the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed, but that could change and they could possibly get the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, but the No. 1 seed will be tricky.

If FGCU wins the three remaining matches and either Kennesaw or JU lose any of their matches, including facing each other, FGCU could get at least the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the conference tournament.

Fast forward to the match against NJIT, FGCU once again swept the series against the Highlanders and are now 6-0 overall.

"I was really pleased with our performance, especially because of the team's response to a new lineup," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "They stayed poised, and I thought those first two sets were really encouraging. We got a little loose attacking in the third, but the floor defense was much improved in that set, which allowed us to close it out.

Shockingly, junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll did not play, but returning to the lineup after being sidelined with an injury was sophomore outside hitter Giovanna "Gio-Gio" Borgiotti. The Vienna, Virginia native had a game-high and season-high 14 kills along with one assist, two blocks and three digs.

Junior setter Maggie Rick had one kill, one service ace, one block and four digs to go with her 42 assists.

Freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam was one dig shy of a double-double, but finished with 10 kills, nine digs and one block. This was Burnam's fourth straight match with at least 10 kills.

Defensively, junior libero Karissa Rhoades had one assist to go with the 11 digs she produced while junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo and freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew. Krivdo had five blocks to go along with the nine kills and one dig she contributed to while VanLiew had four blocks to go with the eight kills and one dig she contributed.

"Kaiti and Snowy played great tonight and both continue to improve with every opportunity they get. Getting Gio back was a big plus, too. I thought she responded well after a pretty lengthy layoff," added Botsford.

Senior libero Courtney Stephens also also contributed with one assist and three digs. Recently, the lone senior from Winter Park reached 1,000 career digs in the match against UNF and currently has 1,018 career digs.

For the Highlanders, senior outside hitter Tess Albyn had 10 kills, one assist, one block and four digs. Sophomore setter Liz Benson had 25 assists along with three kills, one ace, one block and six digs

No players had double digits in digs. The highest amount of digs was seven from sophomore libero Olivia Welsch.

FGCU now has a total of 117 shutout wins since joining NCAA DI in 2007.

Up next, the Eagles will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to take on USC Upstate and wrap up their final road match of the season before coming back home to finish the regular season with two matches against Lipscomb and Kennesaw.

FGCU W. Soccer: ASUN Awards and Postseason Update

As the regular season comes to a close, the journey is not yet over. After going 12-3-1 with a 5-1-1 conference record, the FGCU women's soccer concluded the season with numerous postseason awards.

Listed are 11 individuals who won awards/mentions to represent FGCU:
Defensively, redshirt senior defender Ashley Parks earned the honor of the A-SUN Defender of the Year while sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Weck earned A-SUN Goalkeeper of the Year.

Parks started and played all 16 games. In 15 of the 16 games, Parks played all 90+ minutes. The St. Louis native logged in 1,437 minutes with an assist while allowing only eight goals to pass by with nine clean sheets.

Weck allowed only nine goals throughout the season. The Yorba Linda, California native had 50 total saves including a season-high 10 against Arizona.

Parks and Weck also joined sophomore defender Lindsey Patton, junior midfielder Holly Fritz, redshirt senior midfielder Nikki Hudson and sophomore forward Marjorie Boilesen on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team with Parks and Boilesen being unanimously selected.

Patton, a prospect out of Jacksonville, logged in 1,431 minutes came in clutch with Parks allowing only eight goals to be scored. Patton also finished with one assist and four goals, including a goal at the final home game against UNF.

Since transferring from Florida State, Fritz has made impact with FGCU. The Cape Coral native has four goals and nine assists while logging in 1,328 minutes in the regular season.

After recovering from a knee injury that occurred last season, Hudson recovered with ease as the former Rutgers player and Baltimore native scored two goals with four assists while logging in 1,290 minutes.

Since transferring from DII West Florida, Boilesen made it clear that she was here to stay. The Sao Paulo native and former Gulf South Conference Player and Freshman of the Year leads the team with 11 goals, including four game-winners and six assists while logging in 1,231 minutes.

Meanwhile junior defender Camile Knudstrup and senior forward Varin Ness were named on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team.

Knudstup played majorly on the right side for defense. The Lakeland native had three goals and six assists while logging in 1,226 minutes and allowing only eight goals to pass by.

Since transferring from DII Carson-Newman, Ness, a product out of Sogndal, Norway, came with great strides offensively and defensively. Ness has six goals and two assists while logging 997 minutes.

Three freshman that represented FGCU as part of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team are Cassidy Morgan, Hope Van Wagner and Zoey Spitzer.

Starting seven of her 11 games played, Morgan scored four goals and had three assists while logging in 508 minutes of playing.

As an early high school graduate to freshman, Van Wagner, a native of Avon, Indiana, scored two goals and logged in 786 minutes.

Spitzer is one of five players to start all 16 games of the season. The Naples native played primarily as a defender and had one goal and one assist while logging in 1,333 minutes.

In addition, Parks and Patton were also named to the A-SUN All-Academic Team.

Congrats to all the players that earned the awards.

In the beginning of the A-SUN postseason, the conference standings were as noted:

No. 1 Lipscomb* 16 (5-1-1 A-SUN) 8-6-3 overall
No. 2 FGCU* 16 (5-1-1 A-SUN) 12-3-1 overall
No. 3 Stetson* 14 (4-1-2 A-SUN) 9-4-3 overall
No. 4 Kennesaw State* 10 (3-3-1 A-SUN) 8-6-4 overall
No. 5 North Florida* 9 (3-4-0 A-SUN) 9-6-1 overall
No. 6 Jacksonville* 6 (2-5-0 A-SUN) 5-10-0 overall

NJIT (9-8, 2-5 A-SUN) and USC Upstate (6-10-1, 1-5-1 A-SUN) did not qualify for the conference tournament because of their conference records.

Since Lipscomb is the No. 1 seed, they will host the conference tournament in Nashville.

As a sits now in the tournament, there are now four teams remaining in the tournament: No. 1 Lipscomb, No. 2 FGCU, No. 4 Kennesaw and No. 6 Jacksonville.

JU defeated and upset No. 3 seed Stetson 2-0 while Kennesaw tied in double overtime, they defeated No. 5 seed UNF in a shootout by a score of 4-3 in penalty kicks.

Lipscomb and FGCU both received a first round bye because they were the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds

FGCU will face JU at 5 p.m. while Lipscomb face Kennesaw at 8 p.m. Both games are scheduled to occurred on November 3.

The winners of both games will face each other in the championship and the chance for an automatic bid for the national tournament  on November 5 at 2 pm.