COLUMBIA, S.C. – The FGCU swim team was back in the pool on Wednesday for day one of the Gamecock Invitational. After five events, the Eagles sit in 4^th place with 161 points, ahead of fellow CCSA teams Georgia Southern, North Florida, and Gardner-Webb.

"Our goal this weekend was to execute our races better," said head coach Dave Rollins. "How can we find ways to improve technically and with our strategies. We have done a great job with those items. The team is racing tough, and it's been great to see. For where we are in our training, we are doing great! A handful of lifetime bests, highlights the day! Tomorrow is another excellent opportunity!"

The day got started with preliminaries where 15 Eagles advanced to the finals, Wednesday night.

In the night session, the Eagles got off to a great start in the 200-free relay as Hailey Jerew (Miami, Fla./Cutler Bay Senior High), Emma Hixenbaugh (Louisville, Ky./Ballard HS), Liv Hettinger (West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo HS), and Mia Burke (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School) finished fifth with a time of 1:33.85 besting CCSA rivals Gardner-Webb, Georgia Southern, and North Florida. The time is also the top time so far in the CCSA this season.

Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/Gymnazium Pierra de Coubertina/ECU) was the top Eagle in the 500 free as she swam under five minutes with a time of 4:59.74 to finish 16^th. Emma Bjoernholdt (Bagsvaerd, Denmark/Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium/St. Leo University) also picked up points for the Eagles, finishing 19^th with a time of 5:01.77.

In the 200 IM, Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS) and Anna Hogan (Louisville, Ky./Dupont Manual HS) finished 14^th and 15^th, respectively with times of 2:04.21 and 2:04.58. Kuriger's time is the fastest in the CCSA this season.

Jerew was the top individual finisher of the night for the Eagles as she picked up 17 points with a 6^th-place finish in the 50 free with a time of 23.33. Three other Eagles scored points in the event as Burke finished 12^th (23.69), Hettinger finished 15^th (23.90), and Hixenbaugh finished 18^th (24.21). Jerew also went 23.09 leading off the 200 free relay which is the top time in the CCSA this season as well.

The night ended strong for the Eagles as the team of Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija I Ekonomska Skola Benedikta Kotruljevica), Jenna Gwinn (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy/UMBC), Kuriger, and Burke finished fifth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:44.14, knocking over 10 seconds off their time from the Bellarmine Duals earlier this season. The Eagles also finished ahead of its CCSA rivals as well as the A-Team from Vanderbilt.

The Gamecock Invitational will continue tomorrow with finals for the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back as well as the 200-medley relay and 800 free relay.
 
Team Scores

1. South Carolina – 538
2. UNCW – 317
3. Vanderbilt – 205
4. FGCU – 161
5. Georgia Southern – 88
6. UNF – 76
7. Gardner- Webb

Eagles Entering CCSA Top-10
500 Free
Sara Niepelova – 4:59.74, 4th
Emma Bjoernholdt – 5:01.77, 8^th
 
200 IM
Cameron Kuriger – 2:04.21, 1^st
Anna Hogan – 2:04.58, 3^rd
Rebecca Winn – 2:07.53, 9^th
 
50 Free
Hailey Jerew – 23.09, 1st
Mia Burke – 23.69, 6^th
Liv Hettinger – 23.90, 9^th
 
200 Free Relay
1:33.85, 1st
 
400 Medley Relay
3:44.14, 2nd
 
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HEAD COACH DAVE ROLLINS
Head coach Dave Rollins is only the second coach in program history. He was hired Sept. 1, 2016 and owns a 38-26-1 (.592) dual meet record, which includes a 16-2 (.889) mark against CCSA opponents, in his seventh season. Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles (2017, 2018), marking the ninth championship in 10 years before winning the 10th championship in program history in 2021. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in two of his seasons at the helm. Previously, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at The Ohio State University. Rollins brings over a decade of coaching experience to The Nest, which includes helping to develop Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans, along with multiple conference champions. A native of Brockton, Mass., he was a standout collegiate swimmer in his own right and was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame in 2017, as a nine-time NCAA All-American, national champion, school record holder and team captain.
 
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FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.